An Idaho 18-year-old has been arrested after she purportedly left her dead infant in a baby box at a Blackfoot hospital.

Angel Newberry, of Twin Falls, was charged with a felony for failing to report the death of her child to law enforcement and the local coroner, the Blackfoot Police Department posted on social media Friday.

On Oct. 13, the baby in question was deposited into the Safe Haven Baby Box at the Grove Creek Medical Center in Blackfoot, which specializes in labor and child delivery. Hospital staffers who went to retrieve the baby found that she was already dead.

The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Ms. Newberry’s child is ongoing, and police didn’t say what caused the baby’s death or how long she was dead prior to being placed in the box.

Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder Monica Kelsey said in a statement on social media last month that the baby was a girl and that she was found “wrapped in a blanket with the placenta still attached.”

Under the Safe Haven Baby Box system sanctioned by Idaho law, parents can anonymously surrender a newborn who is less than 30 days old at one of the boxes without any legal issues, provided the baby is unharmed. The Grove Creek box is the only one of its kind in Idaho.

“We are heartbroken. Let this be clear: This is an illegal, deadly abandonment. Anonymity is only allowed when an infant is safely surrendered completely unharmed. We are fully cooperating with the investigation and providing all information we possess to local authorities,” Ms. Kelsey said in the Safe Haven Baby Boxes social media post.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.