Fairbanks woman finds newborn baby abandoned in cold on New Years Eve

By
Suzanne Downing
-
23

A prematurely born newborn baby was abandoned in a cardboard box along a Fairbanks street on New Year’s Eve, according to Alaska State Troopers and the woman who found the child early Friday afternoon.

The baby, who was alive, was wrapped in baby blankets and left at the corner of Dolphin Way and Chena Point Avenue, not far from Chena Pump Road, according to Alaska State Troopers, who were notified at about 2 pm on Friday. The outside temperature was 1 degree with wind chill of -12.

A woman who said she found the baby, Roxy Lane, wrote on Facebook on Friday night that the child had been left near mailboxes near her home. She posted a short video of the child, and showed the note that was apparently written by the child’s mother, who said neither she nor her family have the resources to care for the baby.

“Today I found an abondaned newborn in a cardboard at the row of mailboxes by my house. I’ve been processing my feelings all day and running through all the different scenarios and reasons, with my bf and family, as to why something like this could have happened.I wanted to share some thoughts. First, the safe haven law is relatively new in Alaska (adopted in 2008) and it’s possible that many people, particularly young people, might not know what it is. There is always a safer, humane choice to surrender a baby and you will not get in trouble or even have to answer any difficult questions. Take the baby to a fire station, or church, or hospital and they will take care of them. I hope the mother gets the help she might need. I doubt they could have afforded to take her to the hospital and she may be in need of medical attention. Please, someone knows this new mom, check on her! She might be in a desperate situation, feeling abandoned herself. We don’t know, there could be a whole backstory here behind closed doors. Our community has been having an incredibly difficult time this year. I’ve been listening to sad story after sad story this week at work as I’ve been trying to do my part to provide our community with power and access to water or groceries. I’ve worked 9-11 hour days to provide good samaritans the ability to dig their neighbors out or pull out stranded strangers. I’ve been thanked and called an angel more times this week than ever before at my job. So let’s keep this feeling of community going into this new year. Clearly, someone in our community felt so lost and hopeless that they made probably the hardest choice of their lives to leave that innocent life on the side of the road with nothing but some blankets and a name. But she named him! There’s some love there, even if she made a terrible decision. I know we’re all struggling, I see it. I see you. I love you all and I’m here. Today I saved a baby and I’ll probably think about Teshawn for the rest of my life,” Lane wrote on Facebook.

The note from the apparent mom, who says she lived on Cormorant Street, a sparsely populated five-block street, described her anguished decision:

Troopers said that emergency medical workers took the child to the hospital where he was found to be in good health and is being cared for.

23 COMMENTS

  1. Wow! What a sad and pathetic story, “pathetic” in the true and original sense of the word, evoking pathos.
    .
    I cannot even imagine the desperation, and cruelty, that could lead one to abandoning a newborn infant in such a cold and heartless manner. I would not and could not do that to a puppy, much less a baby.
    Also, I have to seriously question at least one claim in that note, that the baby was born 13 weeks premature. That means being born a full THREE MONTHS premature — most such babies do not survive, much less one that was abandoned for an unspecified length of time at zero Fahrenheit.

    • What’s cruel to me is people who think they are above others… it actually seems you’ve never had to make such a hard choice in life. Show some compassion you have no idea what this woman or possibly even young teenage girl must have been going through. I agree a baby should never be left in such a manner but fear causes people to do things they never imagined they would, and there’s a great possibility she had no idea what else to do. Calm down oh righteous one.

      • AJ, no amount of desperation or fear justifies attempted murder, which is what the abandonment of this baby in the frigid cold amounts to. Emotions running wild are not a justification for evil acts concomitantly committed.
        Honestly, I do not understand your comment at all.

  4. An amazing story that a “premie” of only 6 months gets a second chance at life. It was cold in Fairbanks on new year’s eve. Survivability for a premie in that weather probably blessed this child with a third chance at life. The writing on that letter looks like a high school girl. She might not have even known that she was pregnant until very recently.

  5. Wow. This is truly horrifying and sad. How timely the woman that found the baby just happened to be at the mailboxes just in time at those temperatures. She sounds like an amazing person with much grace and mercy and I can not help but think it was God’s will that it was she that came upon the baby. Prayer for the baby, and the very troubled mother who left him.

  7. As a separate matter from the tragedy of almost murdering the child, the mother, and apparently the grandparents, seem inexplicably unaware of how easy it would be for them to arrange for the baby girl to be adopted.

  8. This story doesn’t add up. That baby would last only a few minutes outside and this ladies fb post sure shows an extensive amount of information on adoption laws and all this other peacelovedove garbage. I bet she knew the mom and coordinated this as a stunt.

    Regardless, the mother has to be identified and charged.

  10. An innocent child of God that, hopefully, will have a great life and be loved. All my children are adopted and the birth mothers had a very difficult time placing their babies. They loved their newborns more than they loved themselves–true love. But we had open adoptions and so our kids know their birth mothers and have contacts with them. They also know their birth fathers and one has a great relationship with her birth father. Adoption works for many. I pray for this child’s birth mother. God bless.

  11. The comments here are why a flummoxed young mother would do something like this. Was it a stupid place to leave a newborn? Yes. Was it wrong? Yes. Were there other options? Yes. Have any of you men commenters ever given birth and gone through postpartum hormones or worked in pregnancy help ministries? Sure doesn’t sound like it. We can’t understand another person’s awarenesses or motivations in a situation like this. People do crazy stuff all the time.

    Fairbanks has a Carenet pregnancy resource center. They would have been perfect to help this mom out.

    It is just possible none of you have the information to cry “conspiracy” or “murder.” Choosing mercy would be far wiser on your part.

    It is alarming to think there are resources right there but not enough public awareness for someone to think to use them in this situation.

    • You nailed it ECG. It’s blindingly obvious a “flummoxed” mother would have no choice but to leave her newborn outside in Fairbanks in winter due solely to the comments of inexperienced men. We can only gape in awe at your massive wisdom.

  12. This story has gone international now. Everywhere! I think Ms. Lane is more concerned for her own Facebook likes and publicity than she is for the child. She needs to be thoroughly investigated! Something is wrong with this entire picture.

Comments are closed.