Woman who found newborn in shoebox outside apartment was waiting for package

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — None of the neighbors interviewed by deputies after a newborn baby boy was found abandoned naked in a shoebox on the doorstep of an Orange County apartment said they had any idea where the baby came from or who it belonged to, according to an Orange County Sheriff's Office report.

Deputies said they talked to a dozen residents of Bella Vista Place Apartments off Silver Star Road near Hiawassee Road, and they all said they were unaware of what happened or where the baby came from.

The woman who found the baby said she was waiting for a package delivery when she heard a baby crying outside.

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According to the report, the woman told deputies when she looked outside her apartment just after 1 p.m. Saturday to see if her package had arrived she spotted the baby inside the shoebox outside her neighbor's door.

Aireal Piner said the baby was found on her doorstep.

"The baby was so cold, just shivering," Piner said. "Like, I just wanted to hold that baby so tight."

Piner said the baby was found naked and lying in a shoebox.

"That baby was so tiny. Maybe just this long. Just shivering in that shoebox,' Piner said. "No clothes on. No shoes. Naked."

At the foot of Piner's front door was the 1-day-old baby crying for help.

"I'm like, ‘What is that noise?' I hear the officer knock on the door. He's like, ‘Does this baby belong to you?' I'm like, ‘No,'" Piner said.

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"I was very emotional. I didn't know what to do," Piner said. "I don't even know why. Why my doors out of all the doors?"

There was a note in the shoebox asking if someone could take care of the baby, but Piner said she couldn't read the entire note.

Deputies told her she wasn't allowed to touch anything because it's all evidence that will hopefully lead investigators to the baby's parents.

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"I want them caught. That's just heartbreaking," she said.

The baby is in good condition; he was transported to AdventHealth South Orange for further evaluation, firefighters said.

No arrests have been made in the case.

Officials said under Florida's Safe Haven Law, anyone can bring an unwanted newborn to any hospital or fire station with no questions asked and without facing criminal charges.

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