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Fairfield, CA (KCRA) — Two babies, one of whom has died, were found abandoned near a dumpster in Fairfield on Tuesday afternoon, police said.
The infants, believed to be twins, were found in the 300 block of Pittman Road around 4:15 p.m., Fairfield police said. The second baby was rushed to a hospital, where the infant’s condition has been stabilized.
Police said the owner of a nearby business called 911, after seeing a woman in distress.
The business owner told dispatch, “two infants were with (the woman) and appeared to have been recently birthed on the sidewalk behind the businesses,” said Lt. Jausiah Jacobsen.
Police said when officers arrived, they found the newborns near a dumpster in the back of a shopping plaza parking lot, across from the La Quinta Inn on Pittman Road.
“They showed up around 4ish and she was gone,” said Joe Frundl, who owns a nearby pizza restaurant. “(The mother was) nowhere to be found.”
Police said the infants were on the ground when the first officer arrived.
“The first officer who arrived immediately started life-saving efforts on one of the newborns and turned care over to fire department personnel,” police said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the other newborn was determined to have died prior to the officer’s arrival.”
As officers were helping the infants, police said they found the mother on a sidewalk, about a five-minute walk from where the babies were found.
“It was apparent that she did recently give birth,” Jacobsen said. “That female has been taken over to the hospital to be checked on.”
Frundl said he and his employees have seen the woman in the parking lot before.
“She had been here for a couple weeks,” he said. “I’m assuming she was homeless. Don’t know much, really. The only time I had seen her was last night, but my staff said she’d been around the last couple of weeks.”
The investigation is ongoing.
No other details were released.
SAFE SURRENDER IN CALIFORNIA
People can safely surrender a newborn at a firehouse or hospital emergency room within 72 hours of birth without fear of being prosecuted, as long as the baby shows no signs of abuse or neglect, according to the California Department of Social Services.
For more information about safe surrender sites and locations, people can call this toll-free number: 1-877-222-9723.
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