KENDALL, Fla. -- A newborn baby was found inside a trash bin near a medical office close to Baptist Hospital in Kendall, a representative with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said.

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The baby boy, just a few hours old, was discovered at about 8:30 p.cm. Monday by a janitor who heard the infant crying. The baby's umbilical cord was still attached.

The janitor and another person flagged down a rescue crew in the area.

Olga Warner, a 25-year veteran with the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue department, was lowered into the Dumpster to retrieve the baby boy.

“It was unbelievable. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” Warner said. "He was dirty when I pulled him out."

Capt. George Alvarez, another paramedic at the scene, described the baby as full-term.

"He was whimpering a little bit. It looked like he had been there for a little bit. He was getting a little cold," Alvarez said. “I can’t imagine how anyone could do that to any living thing."

He said the janitor who found the newborn told him the baby had a towel covering him inside the dumpster. The janitor removed the towel to help him breathe.

The baby was taken to Baptist Hospital.

"I feel bad for the mother and I feel bad for the infant," said building manager Nancy Mays. "How sad somebody has to, how low somebody has to go in life to do something like that."

Mays said there is an OB-GYN office in the building, leading her to wonder if the mother might have been a patient.

In 2000, the Florida Safe Haven for Newborns statute was enacted. This statute provides that a parent can drop off a newborn who is 7 days or younger at any fire or EMS station or hospital without being questioned or charged with abandonment, as long as there is no evidence the baby has been abused.

The surrender period used to be three days. The legislature recently increased it to seven days.

The office building is only blocks from Baptist Hospital and several fire stations, where the child could have been left with no questions asked.

"It really breaks our heart," said Safe Haven for Newborns founder Nick Silverio. "We're doing everything we can to bring people awareness throughout the whole state of Florida regarding this program."

"To me it's a crime," Warner said. "When you obviously dump a baby in a Dumpster because, one, you don't care, and hopefully, you're thinking, they'll take it out as trash. This is a little life that we're talking about. You have options, and that little baby, it's one of those things that he didn't ask for any of this to happen."

The search continues for the newborn's mother. Anyone with information is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS (8477).

The baby is expected to be OK.

The Department of Children & Families will hold a hearing Wednesday to place the baby with a foster family.

Safe Haven For Newborns Web Site