Man, 53, is arrested after telling police he found an abandoned baby wrapped in newspaper at a gas station but it turns out he was the one who dumped it

  • Ralph Garlick Jr., 53, said he found the baby girl naked and crying, wrapped only in newspaper at about 2 a.m. Monday near the front door of the DeBary Food Mart in Volusia County, Florida
  • He later admitted that it was his girlfriend's baby who had been delivered hours earlier at an Orange City apartment
  • He is not the father and said his girlfriend, who hasn't been named, didn't want to keep the baby
  • The man has been charged with knowingly giving false information to law enforcement

By Helen Pow

PUBLISHED: 11:00 EST, 16 December 2013 | UPDATED: 11:20 EST, 16 December 2013

A Florida man who claimed he found an abandoned baby at a gas station has been arrested after it emerged he was the one trying to dump the newborn, who belonged to his girlfriend.

Ralph Garlick Jr., 53, said he found the baby girl naked and crying, wrapped only in newspaper at about 2 a.m. Monday near the front door of the DeBary Food Mart in Volusia County.

After removing his shirt and wrapping it around the child, Garlick flagged down a newspaper delivery man who called 911 and, because it was cold outside, brought the baby into his heated van to wait for help.

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Charged: Ralph Garlick Jr., 53, pictured, lied and said he found the baby girl naked and crying, wrapped only in newspaper at about 2 a.m. Monday near the front door of the DeBary Food Mart in Volusia County

The child was taken by ambulance to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando where she is in good health, despite being outside in chilly temperatures.

 

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Garlick told police he didn't know the child and came across it at the gas station.

However, he later admitted that it was his girlfriend's baby who had been delivered hours earlier at an Orange City apartment. He is not the father and said his girlfriend, who hasn't been named, didn't want to keep the baby.

The infant's mother has been located and is being questioned by police at Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford. 

Florida is one of 34 states where a 'safe haven' law allows parents to anonymously drop off a child younger than seven days at a designated location, relinquishing their parental rights free from criminal prosecution.

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Dumped: The incident happened around 2 a.m. Monday near the front door of the DeBary Food Mart, pictured, in Volusia County

The DeBary fire station, located half a mile from the Food Mart, is one such 'safe haven' but Garlick didn't take her there.

Garlick told police he had tried to find someone to take the baby but police dispute how far his efforts went.

The newspaper delivery man, Anthony Ackridge, told Fox News he thought Garlick was making up the story when he first approached him asking for help.

'In a way I thought he was lying at first and then I heard the baby and I immediately knew he was telling the truth,' he said.

'She looked really good, the only thing that I seen was a little bit of purple on her toes but other than that she was in very good condition.'

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Witness: Anthony Ackridge, pictured, called 911 when the man approached him with the baby

The baby still had her umbilical cord attached, he said, though it appeared to have been tied off with a string or nylon rope.

Ackridge added: 'I don't see how anybody could leave a baby out in this whether.'

Garlick was arrested on charges of knowingly giving false information to law enforcement during an investigation and resisting an officer without violence.

He was taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach where he is being held on $5,000 bond. Police said he used the name of his dead brother, Charles Garlick, to identify himself at first.

Charges may be filed against the mother as well.

Once released from hospital, the baby will be turned over to the Florida Department of Children and Families.

DCF spokeswoman Carrie Hoeppner Proudfit told Orlando Sentinel infants surrendered under the Safe Haven law go to approved adoptive parents through private adoption agencies.

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That guy is a good candidate for being put in a cell and the cell walled up with concrete.

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At least this little dot will go to a family who will want her now so she has a chance, but how could anyone do this to a little one?

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Horrid story but at least he half did te right thing and the baby is doing well!!

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Poor little mite will be so much better off when she is adopted by a family who actually want her

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oh Florida, you never let me down. You're always crazy

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A strange turn of events but his change of heart (if he ever really intended to leave the baby there alone in the first place) probably saved the child's life. Left with the mother, the baby might have met a much worse fate.

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PEOPLE: you can drop a child off at any emergency room or fire station and not face charges. IT IS NOT HARD TO DO. And while you're at the hospital, have them neuter you so you don't have to do it twice!

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At least he tried to get help for the baby. So he didn't do it the 'right way', I'm just glad he tried. There are way more other things they should prosecute.

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Thank God the baby is alive. I pray that this child gets a good home. In a way the man should be released. He did do a the right thing. The child is alive.

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As bad as it may seem, im just thankful he didn't abandon her to the elements. ...or worse!

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