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Infant found dead in a garbage bin outside a Florida university dorm building

The Tampa Police Department said the mother of the baby was located and taken to a nearby hospital.

Police launched a death investigation after a baby was found dead on a Tampa college campus Sunday. The Tampa Police Department said officers located the abandoned baby when they arrived at the University of Tampa. The cause of death is still being investigated.

By: Scripps News Tampa

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A dead baby was found on the campus of the University of Tampa Sunday night, according to police.

The Tampa Police Department said someone reported seeing the infant in a garbage bin near McKay Hall, a campus dormitory. Officers responded to the campus around 7 p.m. and found the baby girl wrapped in a towel in the bin.

The body of the infant was taken to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy, and the cause of death is not known at this time.

Tampa Police said the mother of the baby was located and taken to a nearby hospital, but the department did not release any further details regarding her identity or charges she may face, if any.

"The loss of a child is always a tragedy," said Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw in a statement posted to the department's website. "As our department actively investigates this incident, we want all expectant mothers to know there are resources available."

Florida has a Safe Haven Law, which allows parents to anonymously surrender an unharmed newborn infant seven days old or younger to any fire station, EMS station or hospital staffed with full-time emergency medical technicians with no questions asked and no criminal penalties.