2 in custody after newborn baby girl found abandoned behind dumpster

BYHALIA, Miss. (WMC/Gray News) - Deputies in Mississippi are investigating after a newborn baby was found abandoned behind a dumpster in a Byhalia mobile home park.

On a cold, rainy and dreary Wednesday evening, Marshall County deputies said a 1- or 2-week-old Hispanic baby girl was found abandoned in a car seat behind a dumpster inside The Grove at Cayce Mobile Homes Park.

Deputies said the infant was wrapped in several blankets and found by three men around 7:30 p.m.

As of Friday afternoon, deputies said they had taken two persons of interest into custody.

Officials said the baby is in good condition and continues to recover at a local hospital. She is in the custody of the Department of Human Services.

Mississippi does have a Safe Haven law for newborns, but there is no place to surrender a child in Marshall County. The nearest Safe Haven is in Jackson, which is a three-hour drive away.

The Grove at Cayce Mobile Homes Park resident Natalie Wynkoop, heartbroken by the discovery, told WMC she hopes police find whoever is responsible.

“I hope they find out who did it, and I hope they don’t give the baby back to them. I hope somebody is kind enough to find that baby a home and actually being raised well,” Wynkoop said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s department at 662-252-1311.