Newborn Baby Abandoned in Laundry Basket at Cathedral: Police

"I don't often cry tears of happiness at work these days. I am completely speechless by the selfless actions of you and your officers tonight." That's what an intake nurse said after Saint Paul police officers assisted in the rescue of an abandoned baby.

Police say a newborn baby boy was left in a laundry basket wrapped in blankets inside the Cathedral of Saint Paul Wednesday night. A church employee found the boy in a hallway at about 6 p.m.

Police told the Star Tribune the baby is in good shape after being found.

Sgt. Mike Ernster, a Saint Paul police spokesman, told the Pioneer Press the child was taken to a hospital and turned over to Ramsey County Child Protection. Police are not investigating the case as a criminal matter.

Minnesota's "Safe Place for Newborns" law allows a mother, or someone with her permission, to anonymously leave her unharmed baby born in the past seven days at a safe place without fear of prosecution.

Safe places for newborns are:

• A hospital
• An urgent care facility
• An ambulance responding to a 911 call.

Saint Paul police said on Facebook that the incident "touched our hearts" and that they are thankful for the creators of the safe place law.

According to police, the following is what the intake nurse involved in the situation said Wednesday night:

I don't often cry tears of happiness at work these days. I am completely speechless by the selfless actions of you and your officers tonight. Your kindness to our little baby speaks volumes for the wonderful men that you are. I hold police officers in very high regard and have some in my family. I cannot thank you enough for what you do every day but also for going out of your way tonight to show this little boy some love. We have the blanket covering his incubator and the giraffe in the bed with him.

Image via Steve Moses, Flickr, used under Creative Commons