BLACKFOOT, Idaho — Authorities are investigating the discovery of a deceased baby girl found in a Safe Haven Baby Box at a southeastern Idaho hospital, officials reported on Monday.
On October 13, police in Blackfoot, located about 250 miles (400 kilometers) east of Boise, responded to a report regarding the deceased infant left in the baby box at Grove Creek Medical Center, according to news outlets.
Monica Kelsey, founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, shared on social media that hospital staff responded within one minute after an alarm signaled a baby had been placed in the box, which was installed earlier this year. Upon arrival, staff determined that the infant had died prior to being placed inside the box.
“We are heartbroken,” Kelsey stated. “Anonymity is only allowed when an infant is safely surrendered completely unharmed.”
Idaho law stipulates that only unharmed and healthy infants can be surrendered.
Kelsey indicated that both the organization and the hospital are cooperating with police in the investigation. She noted that the baby was found wrapped in a blanket with the placenta still attached.
In a social media update, Grove Creek Medical Center expressed their commitment to the situation, stating that staff members “gave their all in a heartbreaking situation.”
Kelsey, who was abandoned after birth in 1973, started Safe Haven Baby Boxes in Indiana in 2016. These boxes, installed at fire departments and hospitals, are designed to offer a safe and anonymous way to surrender newborns.
The medical-grade boxes are built into the exterior wall of the facility. An exterior door locks automatically when a baby is placed inside, and a medical staff member can then open an interior door to secure the infant.
Since their inception, these boxes have been placed in over a dozen states. Kelsey reported that 52 infants have been surrendered at the organization’s baby box locations since 2017. She emphasized that Safe Haven Baby Boxes will continue to educate the public about how the program functions.
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