A 9-year-old girl found the infant wrapped in a towel with her umbilical cord and placenta still attached around 11 a.m. on Monday, according to the Lake County Sheriff.
The girl, Elysia Laub, found the baby in a rural area near a creek in her backyard in Lowell, Indiana.
"I just saw pink legs kicking away," Elysia Laub told NBC Chicago. "I knew it was alive and I knew we had something. I could not second-guess myself. I knew we had to get help."
"I thought it was a robotic doll. Then I ran to the baby and scooped it up and I said, 'Elysia run to the house and call 911 as soon as possible,' " Heidi Laub said. "I got to the house and we put one of our baby blankets around her."
Elysia Laub
Temperatures in the area on Monday reached 90 degrees. It is unknown how long the baby was left outside in the heat, but a preliminary investigation indicated that it could have been several hours or even overnight, according to a statement from the Sherriff's Department.
"The baby was found in a very rural area, and to think if the 9-year-old wouldn't have gone outside, this could've had a very different outcome," Lake County Sheriff John Buncich said at a news conference Monday, according to The Chicago Tribune. "The department has taken a really personal approach to this case."
The baby, dubbed "Miracle Jane Doe" by police, was taken to a local hospital for emergency medical treatment and is expected to make a full recovery. She will be released to child protective services within the next few days.
Police said they searched the area extensively with K-9 and a helicopter but were unable to locate the child's mother.
"We'd like to locate the mother. We'd like to talk to her. We are asking anybody to come forth with any knowledge about anybody who may have done this," Buncich said.
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