Church youth group leader finds baby abandoned at side of the road with birth certificate and $5,500 in cash

The baby apparently found by Rodger Prater (Photo: Rodger Prater)

A church youth group leader driving a bus load of young Christians back from an amusement park made a startling discovery on Saturday afternoon. 

Rodger Prater, 46, told People.com he and his wife Nancy were driving the group of youngsters back after the day's outing when he noticed a one-month-old baby on the side of a busy interstate in its car seat. 

The child was sitting in the carrier around 10 feet from the white line marking the outer boundary of the two-lane highway, said Prater, who is a youth worker at Abba's House of Worship Center in Ada, Oklahoma. 

But that's not all.  Found along with the infant was a birth certificate, social security card, and $5,500 in cash. 

Prater said that at first, he 'couldn't fathom' what he was seeing.  But then the feet moved and that confirmed to him what he thought it was, a little baby. 

'He was just a little fella,' says Prater.  'Thank God we got there in time.' 

The baby was taken to a local hospital to be checked over and was found to be fine.  Police were also informed and, according to People magazine, the mother was located thanks to the details in the documents that were found along with the baby. No arrests have been made, it reported, although the baby remains for now in the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. 

Prater is convinced God had a hand in finding the baby when he did.  He told People: 'All I know is that God intervened.

'One day when the baby is old enough to understand, he can call me and I will tell him that it was no fluke that we found him. We found him for a reason. I will tell him that God has a plan for his life.'

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