Woman describes moments after newborn baby was found in trash can

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Tamara Austin was in her apartment at the Meridian at Fairfield Park apartments on Thursday afternoon just after 5 p.m. when she heard a woman yelling for help that she had found a newborn baby.

“She said she found it in a dumpster across the street,” said Austin. “She was on the phone with 911 when I came out. The baby was breathing he was obviously a newborn...very recent.”

Austin, who is a mom herself, followed instructions from dispatchers to make sure the baby was okay

“He still had his umbilical cord around his neck,” said Austin. “The 911 operator told us to take it from around his neck which it wasn’t tight, and I just held him and cleared his airways with a towel and I just held him.”

Together with the woman who found him, they waited until paramedics arrived, comforting the child that just minutes before had been left for dead.

“I was praying,” said Austin. “And she (the woman who found the baby) started singing Jesus loves me and I just chimed in with her and saying it with her. I told him someone here wants you. And, God has a purpose for you so, hang in there. And waited until the ambulance got here.”

In those minutes, Austin and the baby shared an emotional moment.

“I was praying and talking to him,” said Austin. “I said, ‘hang in there little man, we have help coming for you, and God has a purpose for you.’ He actually grabbed my pinky finger when I said that. So, that was very heartwarming to say the least.”

Around 7:30 p.m. the Wilmington Police Department sent out a message saying that the newborn is healthy and doing well.

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