Police: Abandoned Baby Boy Found Outside of Sioux Falls Church Likely Left Overnight in Rain

The little boy, believed to be two and a half months old, is doing well and is now in protective custody. KDLT Reporter Anndrea Anderson Reports.

SIOUX FALLS, SD — Employees at a downtown Sioux Falls church made a startling discovery early yesterday morning.

A baby, in a car seat, right at their front door.

The little boy, believed to be only about two and a half months old, is doing well and is now in protective custody.

“My first thought is the parents might be around the corner and then I picked him up,” said church administrative assistant, Adrienne Horsley.  “Immediately my first thought is now I have an opportunity to love this child, get it what it needs and go from there.”

Horsley said it was a chance of fate that staff at Faith Family Church found the abandoned car seat because it was sitting outside their east entrance.

Doors that are not often used.

“Our maintenance guy got a phone call so he stepped out into the other room and he happened to see this car seat sitting outside,” Horsley said.

She said the baby was cold to the touch, he and the car seat both soaking wet.

“When we found him, he just stared at me,” Horsley said. “He didn’t have an emotional response when I picked him up or set him down.

She immediately gave him a warm bath, clothes and formula.

Then she called police.

“You never know what goes on in someone’s mind, but you know, we were thankful that we were able to be here and even though it’s a little baby, we were able to show God’s love, even in that area,” Horsley said.

Police say the do not know how long the baby and car seat were left outside the church, but do believe he was sitting out overnight.

“I think it was like, 53 degrees for the overnight low that night,” said Captain Loren McManus with the Sioux Falls Police Department. “Had it been a lot colder or much colder, we would have seen a different outcome.”

Captain McManus said police have identified the infant’s parents and the case has been sent to the state’s attorney for possible charges.

“We know that there was some alcohol involved in the incident and they’re still piecing some of the finer points together about what actually happened,” Captain McManus said.

He said in his 23 and a half years in law enforcement, he’s never encountered a case like this.

“You always wonder, like, does this happen more often?” Horsley asked. “And you think, well, it would never happen to me.”

Horsley said she’s glad it did.

“Even though the baby might not even know me or might not even know what we did for him, at least we know we were able to do what he needed,” she said.

South Dakota does have a “Safe Haven Law”, but the church is not considered one of those safe haven locations.

His parents could be facing charges of abuse or cruelty to a minor.