Candlelight vigil held in Calgary parking lot where newborn's body found
Baby discovered in Bowness lot on Christmas Eve
Dozens of mourners gathered in a Calgary parking lot on Wednesday evening to remember a baby girl who was found dead in the area late Christmas Eve.
"I showed up here to show my support for the poor little baby that lost her life. She didn't have a chance at life," said Michelle Menzies, one of the attendees at a candlelight vigil held in the same Bowness parking lot where the baby was found.
On Dec. 24, a security guard spotted the infant in the lot near the intersection of Bowness Road and 79th Street N.W.
Police said it's unknown if the baby was alive at the time she was abandoned.
"I don't understand what was going through the mom's head but I ask for prayers for her and I ask for good things for her and I ask for people not to hate her," said Charlo, another attendee at the vigil who didn't give his last name.
"She's just human too."
Dayna Bramston, who organized the vigil, said she was overwhelmed by the news as it hit close to home.
"I had an ectopic pregnancy when I was in my 20s and that turned out to be my only opportunity to have children myself. My dream to be a biological mother died really young in my life," Bramston said.
She said it wasn't hard to picture herself in the mother's place.
"I could have been in the mom's shoes myself if everything went to plan. I didn't have a partner at the time."
She said she hopes the vigil helps the community by giving people the space to share their stories and heal.
Police are still looking for the mother of the child.
Evidence found at the scene indicated the mother was in need of medical help, police said.
Bramston is advocating for Calgary to open an angel cradle program in Calgary.
The program, which is available at two Edmonton hospitals, allows babies to be left anonymously in a bassinet behind a door. The space has literature that outlines available supports.
Once the door is shut, an alarm goes off, alerting hospital staff that a baby is there.
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With files from Dennis Genereux