A baby found dead this morning in a storage bin at a Hill District apartment was not born alive, investigators said yesterday.

Police have not charged the infant's mother, a 16-year-old Brashear High School student, but said their investigation is ongoing.

The girl was taken to UPMC Children's Hospital after she went to school yesterday and word spread that the baby was born.

She was in good condition when she was taken from Brashear by school police. Police spokeswoman Diane Richard said the girl was afraid to tell relatives she was pregnant.

"She's faring as best she can at this point," Ms. Richard said. "We have no reason to believe she intended to harm her baby."

The baby was three months premature at birth, investigators said. The infant was found wrapped in towels in a small storage bin in a second-floor apartment in the Reed-Roberts Place housing complex in the Hill District.

Paramedics pronounced the baby dead at 10:20 a.m.

"There were no signs that the baby ever took a breath," Ms. Richard said. The medical examiner's office is trying to determine the cause of death.

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