The State : Baby Left at Church Altar

A San Francisco priest whose Mass was disrupted by a child’s cries discovered an abandoned baby boy in an adjoining church, officials said. The child, described as about 15 months old and weighing 35 pounds, was found at the foot of an altar in St. Dominic’s Church, officials said. “There was no note, no bag of clothing. Just the little guy,” said Michael Hancock, an investigator for the San Francisco Department of Social Services. The Rev. LaSalle Hallissey, who found the child, said the boy appeared to have been well cared-for. The baby, who wore a gold bracelet inscribed with the name “Austin,” was taken to the Children’s Home Society to await placement in a foster home pending an investigation. Investigators said they had few leads to the child’s parents.