HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — An abandoned newborn baby found near a walking trail is recovering after a couple made the discovery Saturday morning.
Authorities said they're looking for the man who was seen on camera leaving the baby girl wrapped in a towel with her umbilical cord still attached. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said they're looking for a Hispanic or white man with a slim build and fair complexion. He had black hair and was holding the infant, which was wrapped in a towel. He was wearing a black shirt and possibly gray pants. He was on foot along the Plantation Lakes walking trail.
Harris County investigators said they're thankful for the people who found her before it was too late.
RELATED: 'I was shocked' | Family finds abandoned newborn baby while walking along trail in NW Harris County
The couple found the pre-term infant girl along a bridge along the walking trail near Katy. She was unclothed and wrapped in a towel.
"The baby was a newborn ... still had, you know, fresh placenta on the baby, so it was freshly born this morning," Harris County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Juan Garcia, who works with the Child Abuse Unit, said.
Harris County deputies and first responders were called to the scene around 9 a.m. Saturday. A surveillance video shared with KHOU 11 News by a neighbor showed the couple running to pick up the baby and a short time later flagging down first responders.
"She's very emotional because she has a child of her own. And I praise her. I said you know you’re at the right place at the right time," Garcia said.
The couple told officials they saw the man run from the scene. The surveillance video shows the man walk to the bridge and place something on the ground before running away. Two minutes later, the couple comes into frame. First responders took the infant to Methodist hospital in Katy where she is listed in good condition.
"Still a little disheartening that a baby got left. It’s hot," Brittany Barnes said.
Barnes was coming to visit her mother. When she pulled up, she was shocked by the deputies and crime scene tape.
"Somebody must’ve really been going through something to have left their child there. When I found out the baby was OK. It was a reliever," she said.
Investigators said cases of abandoning infants like this are rare and it should never be the choice. Instead, surrender the baby to a fire station or hospital.
"The two witnesses that were thankfully walking on the trail with their daughter and their dogs were a blessing," Garcia said.
Here is what investigators had to say: