Shocking twist after baby was found abandoned in woods

A woman who allegedly pretended she found an abandoned baby in the woods on September 12 is actually the infant's mother, police revealed. Photo / KPRC2

Police have revealed a surprise development in the case of a baby girl found abandoned off a road in the US state of Texas.

A woman contacted authorities after claiming to have found the newborn in a wooded area near a busy Houston intersection on Wednesday.

In her call, logged at 1.45pm, the woman said she was walking near Kuykendahl and Cypress Landing roads when she heard cries coming from the woods.

She said she went to investigate and found an infant with its umbilical cord still attached with a leather strap tied to one end.

The woman stated she took the child back to her apartment, gave her a wash and called police.

But in a shock twist, investigations have since revealed the woman to be the infant's mother.

"We're trying to find out exactly what happened and why she would make that up," Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told Click 2 Houston.

"We're interviewing her now to find out why she would report this in the way that she did, but the most important thing is that the child is OK."

Sheriff Gonzalez said paramedics picked up the baby, who was in good condition, and took her to Texas Children's Hospital in The Woodlands.

He said further inquiries established that the woman had in fact given birth in her apartment and fabricated the story about finding her in the woods.

Police believe the child was born just hours before the woman called 911 allegedly pretending to have found an abandoned baby.

"We brought in investigators and quickly putting the pieces together; it just wasn't adding up," Sheriff Gonzalez said. "The main thing is that the infant is OK."

There is no word if the mother will face charges, since the baby was not technically abandoned. Authorities said it's unclear if she will face charges for filing a false report.

The bizarre case came just days after a baby boy just a few old was found dumped at a church in north Houston.

A Texas firefighter cradles a newborn baby boy handed into a Houston fire station on September 5. Photo / KPRC2

Houston Fire Department District Chief Steve Dunbar said a man showed up at Fire Station No 63 with an infant just before 5am on September 5 and told firefighters it had been left at nearby Greater Progressive Church.

Chief Dunbar said the man said he wanted to make sure the baby, which still had his umbilical cord attached, was taken care of and then left without giving his name.

"The paramedics on scene did an outstanding job of caring for the child, they evaluated the child and transported him to the hospital," Houston Police Department Chief Samuel Pena said.

Under the Safe Haven law — also known as the Baby Moses law — parents in Texas who have a child under the age of two months that they cannot care for can surrender the infant to an employee at a hospital, freestanding emergency medical care facility or fire station.

The law also protects the identity of the person who leaves the child.

"Firefighters ask anyone who is dropping off a baby to physically give it to a firefighter, instead of placing it outside the fire station," Chief Pena said.