August 10, 2017 

ELMIRA N.Y. (WENY) -- The four neighbors who are all being hailed as heroes for rescuing the baby girl in Elmira on Tuesday held a community gathering Thursday evening. 

It was a close-knit group of people from the surrounding community. An angel figure had been placed, along with candles, at the exact location where
the baby was discovered. 

On Tuesday, the 8 month-old girl was found in a plastic bag behind a home on Walnut Street. We now know she had been left outside for 72 hours. 
 
The gentleman who helped aid the rescue, and were the ones to call 911 explain the idea behind the gathering. 

"What we're basically doing is more of a re-birth of the baby. Innocent baby, shouldn't have been there. I wish people would have more responsibility taking care of the baby, then leaving it here for us to find. Basically happened out here. And we're thanking everybody for coming out at the same time," says Noril Washington, who first called 911. 

"I've never saved a life before so I'm just happy I did, that's all. Happy we all did! Not just me...I'm just happy we all did that. We did our thing and that's
all," says Rahine Bowman, who first walked over to the bag with his sister Kayla Seals to see what the noise was on Tuesday. 

The group is also collecting donations to be sent directly to the baby girl at the hospital in Rochester. If you would like to contribute, you can drop off clothing,
food and other items to the home on Walnut Street.