Woman stepping out for cigarette finds baby in box in Merrillville

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. — Police say a newborn baby girl left wrapped in a sweater inside a cardboard box on a cold night is doing well after being found by chance by a woman and her husband.

The Times of Munster reported Tuesday that the full-term baby girl is in good health at Methodist Hospital's Southlake Campus in Merrillville.

Merrillville Patrol Officer Gerald Croarkin and his wife, Angela, found the child on the doorstep Friday night as temperatures were heading toward an overnight low in the single digits.

Angela Croarkin had stepped outside to smoke a cigarette when she saw the box. She called her husband and he opened it to find the child.

No one had rung the home's doorbell to alert people inside to the presence of the child.