A Florida couple received "a real special present" just a few weeks before Christmas — a baby girl they adopted nearly a year after she was found abandoned in the woods, a local sheriff told Fox News.
"What started out as a frightening, possible bad event ended up with the most wonderful outcome," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told Fox News. "Angel Grace is going to celebrate her first Christmas with her new mom and dad."
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"She's not gonna be alone in the woods by herself," he said. "She's gonna be in the loving arms of a family in a warm home on Christmas Eve."
Around 1 a.m. on Jan. 28, the Polk County Sheriff's Department received a call from a woman living in a mobile home who heard a baby crying in the woods near her property in Mulberry, Florida. The deputies searched the woods and found a newborn with her umbilical cord and placenta still attached.
The Polk County Fire Rescue determined she had been born just an hour before she was found.
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Judd named the baby girl "Angel Grace" for her ability to survive. The temperature was in the low 50s, and it was a miracle anyone could hear her cries while isolated in the woods, Judd said.
"It was because of the grace of God that she was able to survive and had those lungs to scream loud enough to get the attention of someone," he said.
The sheriff's department couldn't find or even identify the baby's biological mother. But on Nov. 29, 10 months after her rescue, Angel Grace was adopted.
"She's thriving," Judd said. "She's healthy, and she's been adopted by a wonderful mom and dad."
Judd said the new parents, who wished to remain anonymous, had been trying to adopt for a long time. They fostered Angel Grace while they waited for the adoption process to be completed.
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"They wanted a child," Judd said. "They wanted a baby, and now they have the most awesome Christmas present ever."
Judd told Fox News he hoped more people would focus on positive outcomes ahead of the joyful holiday season.
"We see the worst of everything, and this turned out to be the best possible outcome," Judd said. "Because we were able to find Angel Grace, we were able to create a real special present for not a child without a present, but a child without a great mom and dad who otherwise wouldn't be a mom and dad this Christmas."
"It's going to be a wonderful Christmas season for Angel Grace and for all of us," he said.
