Baby abandoned in suitcase

BERLIN (AP) — A day-old girl was dressed neatly in a sweater, wrapped in a sleeping bag, zipped into a suitcase and left near a hotel in Hamburg, police said today as they launched a search for her mother.

Police said a passer-by alerted the porter of the hotel to the unattended luggage Tuesday. Hotel security workers partially opened the small, black suitcase, but only saw clothes. They stored it in the hotel's luggage room.

Later Tuesday a hotel porter heard whimpering coming from the suitcase. He opened it, found the baby and alerted police.

Hamburg police said a homicide squad is investigating the case because the baby had been abandoned and could have easily died. The infant was being cared for at a nearby hospital and doctors said she was healthy, according to police. She was underweight at only 4.85 pounds and 17.72 inches long.