Dog returns home in Oklahoma City carrying abandoned body of baby girl in his mouth

A family dog called Luke discovered the body wrapped in plastic in Oklahoma City on Saturday morning
He carried it home where a house-sitter alerted the authorities
Police launch desperate search for mother, who they believe may have experienced injuries in birth

PUBLISHED: 15:27 EST, 21 March 2013 | UPDATED: 16:50 EST, 21 March 2013

A dead newborn baby girl was discovered by a dog in Oklahoma City on Saturday and the family pet carried the corpse home in its mouth.

The dog's unnamed owner was out of town so the pet, Luke, returned the infant's body to a house-sitter at the property just off South Air Deport Road.

The mixed breed was carrying the three to five pound dead baby, which had been wrapped in plastic, in his mouth and placed it by the woman's feet around 8am, KFOR reports.

Returning home: The dog called Luke brought the plastic wrapped baby's body back to this home in Oklahoma City

Abandoned: Police don't know whether the baby was born alive or not but believe the mother could be injured given preliminary examinations of the newborn girl [File pic]

Police do not believe the dog was in any way involved in the baby's death but merely stumbled across the abandoned body.

'He was carrying it just like a momma pup and laid it at my feet,' the house-sitter told the station

'I believe [Luke] found it, picked it up and brought it. There was no trauma you could tell he inflicted.'

Police are now desperately searching for the infant's mother, who they believe may be suffering from health problems following the birth.

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They are also examining the body to try and establish whether the baby was born alive or was a still-birth.

Police Captain Dexter Nelson told the broadcaster: 'We don’t know where the baby came from. If it was born in the area outside or if someone brought the baby out there to dispose of it.'

Luke tends to roam over a large area making things even more complicated for police.

Search: Police Captain Dexter Nelson is trying to find the mystery mother to find out what happened to the abandoned child

Search: Police Captain Dexter Nelson, pictured, is trying to find the mystery mother to find out what happened to the abandoned child

Oklahoma has a 'safe haven' policy which allows a mother to anonymously leave a child which is less than a week old at a designated place without fear of questioning.

No one has reported a missing baby in the area or come forward with information this week.

Police are now going door to door and are combing the area to try and find discarded evidence.

'We are asking anyone in the public who knows someone who was pregnant not too long ago who is not pregnant now or if they believe this child could be that child or involved in that situation to call us,' Nelson told the Oklahoman.

'We don't know if the baby was stillborn or what the cause of death was in this particular case, but that's why homicide is investigating.'

'We do not even know at this time if a crime has even occurred.'

'Due to the condition that the child was found, we believe that the mother could be at risk of health problems,' he added.

The baby was described as white and her mother would have been in her third trimester.