A day on the job turned into a chilling ordeal for a bus driver when he stumbled upon a fetus abandoned on a bus seat.
While navigating Baltimore’s Green Route on June 1, the unsettling discovery was made.
The Maryland Transit Administration bus was cruising through the 2500 block of Kirk Avenue in East Baltimore when the fetus was spotted around 12:39 pm.
The driver quickly contacted the Baltimore Police Department, triggering an immediate investigation.
Social media footage of the bus being examined spread quickly, with many users expressing their dismay, calling the incident ‘sad’ and ‘awful’.
A police spokesperson confirmed the grim find to The US Mirror: “I can confirm that on June 1, 2024, at approximately 12:39 p.m. in the 2500 block of Kirk Avenue, an MTA bus driver advised that he discovered a fetus on a seat on the bus.
“MTA police and BPD officers responded. As this is an open and active investigation, no further information is available at this time.”
Details about the fetus remain limited and no suspects have been identified so far.
This incident follows closely behind the discovery of a placenta and umbilical cord in some trees along Cooks River at Earlwood in southwest Sydney.
A couple walking their dogs found the remains, leading to public appeals for the mother to seek assistance from government welfare programs.
The search for the mother and baby in that case is ongoing.
So far, no one has been located.
Tests confirmed the organs were human and that the baby is male, according to the police.
Though rare, the abandonment of newborns isn’t unheard of.
In 2021, 31 babies were left in dumpsters or found in backpacks across the US, with 22 discovered deceased.
There has been a rise in the number of Safe Havens available for parents to safely leave their unwanted babies.
These facilities are found in hospitals, fire stations, churches, adoption agencies, and emergency service buildings.
According to the National Safe Haven Alliance, since 1999, 4,524 babies have been surrendered to Safe Havens.
During this period, 1,610 babies were illegally abandoned, 608 were found alive, and 915 deceased.
