Mother arrested nearly 4 years after abandoned baby found alive in plastic bag

Nearly four years after an abandoned newborn was found alive in a plastic bag in Georgia, the child’s mother has been arrested and charged with attempt to commit murder, authorities announced Friday.

The baby girl was found in good condition in a wooded area in Forsyth County on the night of June 6, authorities said. A local family told “Good Morning America” at the time they had heard crying and called 911 after finding the newborn in a plastic bag.

The baby, temporarily named India, was likely born within hours of being found, authorities said. Her umbilical cord was still attached.

The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office released remarkable body camera footage of first responders recovering the baby from the scene in the weeks following the discovery as they attempted to identify her.

The Forsyth County Major Crimes Unit has been “tirelessly working” on the “Baby India” case ever since, and on Thursday morning, deputies made an arrest, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.

“Four years ago I said in this room, and I told you, we will bring this person to justice,” Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman told reporters Friday. “Little did I know it was going to take four years.”

The child’s 40-year-old mother faces charges including attempt to commit murder, aggravated assault and reckless abandonment, Freeman said. She is scheduled to make her first court appearance on Saturday remotely from jail, officials said.

Freeman said he would not discuss India, besides to say she’s “happy and healthy.”

“Baby India is now prospering,” he said.

People were “waiting in line” to adopt India following her miraculous recovery, Tom Rawlings, then-director of Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Service, told “Good Morning America” at the time.

“In child protective services we deal with a lot of tragedy, of course, but it’s great to have a miracle,” Rawlings said of baby India’s survival. “And this truly is a miracle.”

Rawlings was not able to disclose too much about where the baby was due to confidentiality reasons.

The first deputy to the scene recounted finding the baby in an interview with “Good Morning America.”

“I wanted to give her comfort,” Forsyth Sheriff’s Deputy Terry Roper said in the weeks after the discovery. “A little bit later I realized it was the first time she had felt love, and I felt honored to be able to give her that.”

Two sisters heard India’s cries and went to investigate with their parents, after initially thinking it might have been a cat.

“It sounded like a baby, but you never would think that it’s a baby,” Kayla Ragatz told “Good Morning America” at the time.

When they found the baby in the plastic bag, her sister, Kyler Ragatz, said she “started bawling” due to the emotional discovery.

“I was angry, scared, sad,” she added.