VIGO COUNTY — An infant surrendered in Vigo County under Indiana's Safe Haven Law makes the sixth one in 2019.
Monica Kelsey with Safe Haven Baby Boxes says the infant is the fifth in Vigo County to be safely surrendered since the first Safe Haven Law was enacted in 2000.
Kelsey said the Safe Haven hotline has received 3 calls from Vigo County this year, but she is unable to confirm if one of those calls was the mother that surrendered her infant. Details about the infant and the surrender have not been released at this time, but this is the second infant in recent weeks to be surrendered under the state's Safe Haven Law.
A baby girl was surrendered sometime in May in Delaware County after her mother called the Safe Haven Hotline twice.
Three infants were surrendered in February under the state's Safe Haven Law.
Indiana's Safe Haven law allows people to anonymously surrender their healthy infants at any fire station in the state without fear of criminal prosecution.
READ | Three infants surrendered in just over a week under Safe Haven Law
Indiana's ninth Safe Haven Baby Box was installed in Seymour earlier this month.
FIND | Safe Haven Baby Box Locations
Baby boxes are safe incubators that have alarm systems, so 911 is notified as soon as a baby is placed inside. The baby boxes also have heating and cooling features.
The Safe Haven Baby Box organization also staffs a 24-hour hotline (1-866-99BABY1), so parents can talk to trained professionals about possibly surrendering their baby.
Two infants have been surrendered inside Safe Haven Baby Boxes since the first was installed in 2016, according to the organization. Two other babies have been surrendered at fire stations with Safe Haven Baby Boxes in Indiana.
