A baby's cry brought Elysia Laub running
A baby's cry brought Elysia Laub running
Elysia Laub, 9 left, and Heidi Laub, her mother.
LOWELL — Heidi Laub said divine intervention was involved in her daughter’s finding an abandoned newborn at the edge of their 3-acre property early Monday.
“God put her in that place to do something,” Laub said of 9-year-old Elysia.
She said she and her children are still dealing with the emotional impact of their discovery. “We feel happiness the baby was OK, scared the baby was placed there and sadness for the mother. It didn’t hit us until last night,” Laub said early Tuesday.
The family live in the 18000 block of White Oak Avenue, 3 miles west of town.
She said Elysia and her 4-year-old brother, Jude, were out playing when Elysia was drawn to the farthest corner of the yard from their house by the sound of crying.
“I was out on my back porch talking to my sister, and my daughter came running up with my son and said something was moving in the yard that has pink legs and she didn’t know if it was a baby pig or a person because she didn’t want to get too close.
“I started walking there and saw the pink arms and legs. I dropped the phone and ran out there and scooped the baby up.
“I told Elysia to run inside and call 911. She was pretty calm and gave our address. I got the baby inside. My other daughter (7-year-old Josie) brought a baby blanket and I wrapped her up and just held the baby until Lake County came with an ambulance. They were awesome,” Laub said.
Lake County Sheriff John Buncich agreed Monday it was nothing less than a miracle they found the baby alive. The sheriff is calling for the mother to come forward and calling on the public to help their investigation.
The state’s Child Protective Services has found a foster home to take the child.
Buncich said a medical team at Franciscan St. Anthony Health hospital in Crown Point has judged the infant Jane Doe, a full-term Caucasian girl with brownish-blond hair, to be healthy and in good condition, other than being sunburned.
Buncich said it remains undetermined how long the infant had been abandoned, but the placenta and umbilical cord were still attached, indicating it had been born less than a day, possibly only a few hours, before the discovery.
Laub said the family had been out in the yard all Sunday so she believes it was abandoned overnight.
Laub said the child was at the edge of their mowed lawn between two Arborvitae trees bordering their property, which is adjacent to an empty farm field to the west and a heavily wooded area to the north.
“It’s pretty far away from our house, but still in the yard to be seen. It makes me think (the mother) wanted it to be found but she didn’t want to be seen, because it was so far from the road. It’s so sad to me that the mother did this.”
I should try to contact the family and offer to paint the little girls bedroom as a reward.
- Bill Dolan bill.dolan@nwi.com, (219) 662-5328
- Updated 55 min ago
A baby's cry brought Elysia Laub running
Elysia Laub, 9 left, and Heidi Laub, her mother.
LOWELL — Heidi Laub said divine intervention was involved in her daughter’s finding an abandoned newborn at the edge of their 3-acre property early Monday.
“God put her in that place to do something,” Laub said of 9-year-old Elysia.
She said she and her children are still dealing with the emotional impact of their discovery. “We feel happiness the baby was OK, scared the baby was placed there and sadness for the mother. It didn’t hit us until last night,” Laub said early Tuesday.
The family live in the 18000 block of White Oak Avenue, 3 miles west of town.
She said Elysia and her 4-year-old brother, Jude, were out playing when Elysia was drawn to the farthest corner of the yard from their house by the sound of crying.
“I was out on my back porch talking to my sister, and my daughter came running up with my son and said something was moving in the yard that has pink legs and she didn’t know if it was a baby pig or a person because she didn’t want to get too close.
“I started walking there and saw the pink arms and legs. I dropped the phone and ran out there and scooped the baby up.
“I told Elysia to run inside and call 911. She was pretty calm and gave our address. I got the baby inside. My other daughter (7-year-old Josie) brought a baby blanket and I wrapped her up and just held the baby until Lake County came with an ambulance. They were awesome,” Laub said.
Lake County Sheriff John Buncich agreed Monday it was nothing less than a miracle they found the baby alive. The sheriff is calling for the mother to come forward and calling on the public to help their investigation.
The state’s Child Protective Services has found a foster home to take the child.
Buncich said a medical team at Franciscan St. Anthony Health hospital in Crown Point has judged the infant Jane Doe, a full-term Caucasian girl with brownish-blond hair, to be healthy and in good condition, other than being sunburned.
Buncich said it remains undetermined how long the infant had been abandoned, but the placenta and umbilical cord were still attached, indicating it had been born less than a day, possibly only a few hours, before the discovery.
Laub said the family had been out in the yard all Sunday so she believes it was abandoned overnight.
Laub said the child was at the edge of their mowed lawn between two Arborvitae trees bordering their property, which is adjacent to an empty farm field to the west and a heavily wooded area to the north.
“It’s pretty far away from our house, but still in the yard to be seen. It makes me think (the mother) wanted it to be found but she didn’t want to be seen, because it was so far from the road. It’s so sad to me that the mother did this.”
I should try to contact the family and offer to paint the little girls bedroom as a reward.
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