Mother of abandoned newborn, found buried under asphalt, arrested in Los Angeles

Police have arrested the mother of a newborn after the girl was found buried alive alongside a Los Angeles-area walking path.

The infant girl was found late last month when two women passing by heard her cries and called 911. She was pulled out from under pieces of asphalt and debris inside a crevice.

Acting on multiple leads, police were able to identify and arrest the baby's mother, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Sunday.

Police said the baby was born within the last 36 to 48 hours of being found. She was taken to the hospital for treatment where she was said to be in a stable condition but police said she was lucky to survive.

"We do know that if the child had spent the night there in those conditions the baby wouldn't have survived," Sheriff's Sgt. Marvin Jaramilla said at the time.

Since 2003, Los Angeles County has had a "Baby Safe Surrender Program" that gives parents the option to hand their baby three days old or younger over at any county hospital or fire station, no questions asked.