Baby Rescued After Mother Gives Birth in Wash

(FOX/CNS) - A woman -- possibly a transient -- gave birth to a
baby girl today in a wash in the Santa Clarita area then abandoned the girl
and ran off, but a man who called 911 stayed with the child while waiting for
authorities, who tracked down the mother nearby.

Deputies responded around 5:50 a.m. to an area behind the Metrolink
station at Via Princessa and Whites Canyon Road, according to the sheriff's
Santa Clarita Valley Station.

"An anonymous male caller called 911 to report that a woman was giving
birth in a wash ...," sheriff's public information officer Shirley Miller
said.

The man who called authorities stayed with the newborn, and said the
woman had fled into the riverbed. Deputies fanned out across the wash and found
the woman about an hour later. She was led out of the wash and taken to Henry
Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, where she and the infant were listed in good
condition.

A resident told CBS2 the woman had been living in a homeless encampment
in the area and was fretting recently about the impending birth.

The discovery of the baby girl was the second time in a week that a
newborn was found abandoned in the Los Angeles area. Last week, a newborn boy
with the umbilical cord still attached was found abandoned in a stroller near
Vermont Avenue and Dana Street in South Los Angeles.

The boy's 20-year-old mother, Belen Ramirez, was arrested Saturday on
suspicion of child endangerment.

It was not immediately clear if the woman who gave birth today would be
arrested.

In response to today's birth, county and sheriff's officials again
stressed that under the county's "Safe Surrender" law, a parent or guardian
is allowed to surrender an infant who is no more than three days old without
repercussions, as long as the baby shows no sign of abuse.