Mom of 'discarded' newborn held on $50k bail

ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A judge on Wednesday ordered a 30-year-old Orlando mother accused of discarding her newborn baby girl to be held in jail on $50,000 bail. During her first court appearance, Susan Richardson held her head down and stayed quiet, prompting the judge to ask if she was awake.

Police arrested Richardson on Tuesday on charges of child neglect and unlawful desertion of a child. She is being held in the Orange County Jail and it's unclear whether she's retained an attorney. "Obviously she wasn't honest, because she said she had a miscarriage. It wasn't till later when we found out she did give birth," said Sgt. Wanda Ford, spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Officers started investigating Monday afternoon after finding a placenta in the parking lot of an apartment complex. Investigators determined that a full term baby had been born and discarded.

The baby has yet to be found, but law enforcement officers continued their search efforts on Wednesday. Investigators searched storm drains around the Willow Bend apartment complex, looking all around and even examining bushes, trying to find the newborn. In the meantime, the Florida Department of Children and Families has opened up an investigation into the case.