A woman has been charged with child abandonment and failing to provide the necessaries of life after a three-month-old baby was discovered outside in sub-zero temperatures in the community of Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
Officers were called to the 2500 block of 16A St. N.W. at about 2:30 a.m. for reports of a woman standing outside in the cold, screaming and holding a baby. The woman was reportedly banging on the side and door of an area home, though the resident didn’t know her.
Police said when they arrived, the woman didn’t have the baby with her anymore.
After a 10-minute search, the baby boy was found conscious in some bushes in the area.
Stuart Brideaux with EMS said the baby was transported to hospital in serious condition with concerns about hypothermia. His condition has since been upgraded to stable.
According to Brideaux, paramedics were very concerned for the boy because the temperature at the time was about -15 C.
“Even an appropriately dressed infant or child would be in serious jeopardy in this case. Even worse, the infant was in very thin layers of clothing and not at all appropriately dressed for the overnight temperatures that we saw.”
Brideaux said it’s not clear how long the baby had been outside.
Calgary police are not releasing the woman’s name to protect the baby’s identity, but believe she is the child’s mother.
In a Tuesday news release, police said the woman also mentioned another child in her interactions with the officers on Tuesday morning, leading them to believe there may be another child abandoned nearby.
“Police immediately conducted an extensive search of the surrounding area, however, later confirmed that the woman only has one child.”
Investigators believe she was impaired by either alcohol or drugs.
Child and Family Services are investigating.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.
With files from Global’s Erika Tucker, News Talk 770’s Brenda Neufeld and The Canadian Press