On Monday a custodian at a church in the Richmond Hill area of Queens found a newborn baby boy crying in the nativity set when he returned from lunch around 1 p.m., CBS reports.
Police said that the custodian found the baby inside of the manger wrapped in towels. The baby was reportedly taken to Jamaica Hospital where he was determined to be healthy and in stable condition.
According to the report, New York does have a safe haven law, which indicates that newborns can be anonymously left at a church, hospital, police or fire station without prosecution. However, the baby has to be left in the care of someone or authorities have to be called right away.
Since neither of those precautions were taken, officers are looking for the person who abandoned the child – searching the neighborhood for surveillance footage and witnesses that may have seen the mother, CBS reports.
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Christopher Heanue, the pastor at the church, shared on the church’s Facebook page that the baby was just over 5 pounds and asked for prayers.
“Let us pray for this child,” he wrote. “For his parents and for whomever will receive him into their home.”
