Dead infant found inside baby box, police investigate [Video]

BLACKFOOT, Idaho (AP) — Police are investigating after the body of a baby girl was found at a southeastern Idaho hospital in a box meant for people to anonymously give up a newborn, officials said Monday.

Police officers in Blackfoot, Idaho, about 250 miles east of Boise, responded Oct. 13 to a report of a deceased infant left in the Safe Haven Baby Box at Grove Creek Medical Center, news outlets reported.

Monica Kelsey, the founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, said in a social media post Monday that hospital staff responded within one minute to an alarm indicating a baby was in the box, which was installed earlier this year. The staff quickly realized that the infant had died before being placed inside.

“We are heartbroken,” Kelsey said. “Anonymity is only allowed when an infant is safely surrendered completely unharmed.”

Idaho law only allows for the surrender of an infant who is unharmed and healthy.

The organization and hospital staff are working with police investigators, officials said. The baby …