MERCED, Calif. (AP) — Police in Central California are searching for the mother of a newborn girl abandoned in a trash bin of an apartment complex in the city of Merced.

The Merced Sun-Star reports (http://bit.ly/1s3B6Nw) that a man looking for cans and bottles Thursday found the hours-old baby under discarded pizza boxes and plastic trash bags.

Merced police say the baby was rushed to a hospital by emergency responders and is expected to survive.

They believe the mother of the newborn found half-naked and with the umbilical cord attached lives in or near the apartment building where the girl was found.

They are asking the public to help locate her and say it’s too early in the investigation to know if criminal charges will be filed.

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Information from: Merced Sun-Star, http://www.mercedsun-star.com

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