OCALA -- A baby girl found abandoned on the side of a dirt road when she was a newborn will soon have a permanent home.
The family who has been taking care of the infant she was discovered in a box and covered in ant bites in May is working to legally adopt her.
While the baby has been doing well, authorities are still putting together the pieces to find her birth mother.
Latasha Wilcox was the investigator for the Department of Children and Families who arrived at the hospital on the day the baby came in.
She said the baby, who she called "baby in a box," might have been sweaty from sitting out in the hot May sun for about two hours, and a little hungry, but she was in fairly good condition.
"From what I observed, she was pretty healthy, had a strong grip, her cry was a little weak because there's no telling how long she had been crying," Wilcox said.
Wilcox is using all of the information she can to find the baby's birth mother.
"If only that mother would have dropped the baby off here at an emergency room at a hospital or another safe haven spot, like a fire station, then she wouldn't be facing prosecution, but now, still, she could be facing criminal charges," Wilcox said.
"This is child abandonment," said Angy Scrobble, who works for the Ocala police.
Scrobble said Florida law protects mothers who leave their children in safe haven spots, but the mother of "baby in a box" could face multiple years behind bars if ever caught.
They say the investigation is "inactive pending," waiting on any proof that can lead to a suspect.
"A lot of work has to be done that's lab work-related in the hopes of obtaining anything that can lead us to the mother, be it prints, DNA, whatever that is. A lot of that takes time," Scrobble said.
Wilcox said whoever the mother is must have taken care of herelf she was while pregnant. The baby was approximately 2 weeks old and was not suffering from any drug withdrawals or major health issues.
Wilcox said she still thinks about the baby she met at the hospital all those months ago.
"She's probably about 4 months old now. I wonder if she's cooing," Wilcox said.
"Baby in a box will probably never know her real birthday or any blood relatives, but she will get a new home. Her private adoption wraps up in November.
News 13 attempted to contact the new adoptive parents, but they declined to go on camera. One of the first tasks the Florida family will have is to name the girl.
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