Mom abandoned baby 'only a few hours old' in dumpster in the rain with 'umbilical cord still attached': Police

Inset: Astrid Nohemi Lopez Ramos (Riverside County Sheriff's Office). Background: The area in Riverside where Ramos' newborn was recovered (Google Maps).

A 26-year-old mother in California is accused of abandoning her hours-old newborn in an outdoor dumpster in the rain, leaving the baby exposed to the elements with his umbilical cord still attached.

Astrid Nohemi Lopez Ramos was arrested on Sept. 17 and charged with one count of child endangerment, authorities announced.

According to a news release from the Riverside Police Department, the investigation began around 2:30 p.m. on May 4, 2025, when the Public Safety Communications Center fielded multiple reports of a baby crying in a dumpster enclosure at an apartment complex in the 3800 block of Jackson Street. The apartment complex is about 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

"Responding officers discovered a newborn infant who had been found moments earlier by a resident," the release states. "The baby was lying next to a dumpster, breathing and crying, with the umbilical cord still attached. The infant had been left uncovered and exposed to the rain."

Emergency medical personnel rushed the newborn to a nearby hospital, where he was admitted in stable condition, Los Angeles Fox affiliate KTTV reported. The baby remains in Child Protective Services custody, the station reported.

Investigators believe the baby was delivered "only a few hours" before he was found, according to the release.

Over the following year, detectives specializing in child abuse identified Ramos as the child's mother, according to police.

Ramos was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on Sept. 17. A judge set her bond at $35,000. Online jail records show that Ramos was no longer in custody as of Tuesday afternoon. She is scheduled to make her next court appearance at the Riverside Hall of Justice on Jan. 12, 2027.

Police reminded residents about California's Safely Surrendered Baby Law, which aims to prevent newborn deaths from unsafe abandonment. The law allows a parent or legal guardian to safely surrender a baby within 72 hours of birth at designated locations with no questions asked. However, legislation signed this month by Gov. Gavin Newsom will extend California's safe surrender window to 30 days, effective Jan. 1, 2027.