Sheriff’s deputies in Michigan’s Oakland County traced reports of a distraught woman to a 4-month-old baby boy abandoned on a wooded creek bank Wednesday, saving the infant they found facedown and suffering from hypothermia.
What are the details?
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a social media post that deputies responded to two 911 calls from neighbors in the area of Waldon and Joslyn roads “regarding a lone woman who was hiding in the bushing and ringing their doorbells.” They added that “the residents said the woman appeared distraught and said she believed someone was chasing her with guns.”
The woman was nowhere to be found by the time law enforcement arrived, but then another report came in that “a frantic woman was pounding on the locked doors” of a nearby middle school.
Authorities said they found the woman, 37, and spoke with her to try to calm her down. During the conversation, they found out she had an infant son. Noticing “burrs on her pants,” the deputies launched a search of the area.
“Thirty minutes after learning the infant was missing, deputies discovered him in the wooded area, cold and wet but breathing,” the news release stated, noting that the 4-month-old “was in a hypothermic state.”
The baby boy is now in good condition.
“Thankfully, deputies were able to determine a baby was missing, which triggered an immediate large response and search, and they were able locate the child,” Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a statement, according to Fox News. “Their quick work avoided what could have been an unspeakable tragedy.”
The sheriff’s office added that “deputies believe the case may involve prescription drug abuse” and “a warrant is being sought for the mother’s arrest on suspected child abuse.
Anything else?
MLive reported that officials don’t know how long the baby was exposed to the elements, and that he is being kept overnight for observation at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. The infant is now in the care of Child Protective Services.