A defenseless 1-year-old baby was rescued from the street in the middle of the night, leaving many wondering how she ended up there.
The baby was found crawling and wearing only a diaper, with no adults nearby, in Greater Vitória, Brazil.
Video surveillance footage shows the infant crawling along the sidewalk of an avenue in the Barramares neighborhood at around 1 a.m on Thursday (June 25).
Highlights
- A “freezing” baby was rescued from the streets of Greater Vitória, Brazil, at 1 a.m.
- The child was discovered by a delivery rider, who initially mistook her for a lost puppy.
- Her mother has faced legal consequences after telling police why she had been away from home.
Image credits: G1
The baby was found by a passing delivery driver, who initially mistook her for an animal.
"I thought it was a puppy," the motorcyclist told his neighbors, according to local outlet G1.
The delivery driver began shouting for help until he alerted a nearby couple.
Image credits: G1
"He said that when he was riding his motorcycle, he saw a figure crossing the street and thought it was a puppy. When he got closer, he saw it was a child. She looked at him and started crying. That's when he stopped his motorcycle," a resident said.
The delivery driver decided to stay with the child until help arrived.
"He said, 'I can't start my motorcycle and leave this child here. I'm a human being,'" the neighbor recalled.
Image credits: G1
A local resident then took in the girl, dressed her in her daughter’s clothes, and wrapped her in a blanket to keep her warm.
"I couldn't imagine it was a child. When I got closer, I picked her up. She was freezing, wearing only a diaper,” they said.
"We don't think twice about helping. She's a defenseless child. She could have been run over, or someone with bad intentions could have done something cruel to her."
While residents were caring for the baby, a team from the Military Police was patrolling the neighborhood.
The residents called out that they had found a child, and the girl was handed over to Child Protective Services.
"The police officers arrived just in time. I yelled that I had found a child. They even took a while to believe what they were seeing," reported one of the neighbors.
The girl’s mother only discovered that her daughter was missing when she returned home from an event, four hours after the child had been rescued.
She told police that she had left home to attend a party and left the baby in the care of her 15-year-old son. When she returned, she realized the child was no longer in the house.
The 34-year-old woman then contacted the police to report that her daughter had gone missing.
Image credits: WLWT5
She was subsequently taken to the Vila Velha Regional Police Station and charged with child abandonment.
The woman has since been transferred to the Cariacica Women’s Prison. The Child Protective Services reported that the baby remains in institutional care.
Custody can only be granted to a family member after a request is submitted to the court, which will decide who will be responsible for the child, per G1.
Image credits: WLWT5
The recent case of child abandonment comes after a 9-month-old baby was found crawling in the middle of a busy New York street.
The mother, Ledrika E. Ford, told police that her baby had been secured inside his car seat when she left the area. A short time later, she looked at the back seat and realized the child had disappeared.
The 27-year-old woman and another relative who was also in the vehicle began searching for the boy and eventually took him from the good Samaritans who had come to his aid, per ABC News.
According to a press release from the Utica Police Department, the infant was crawling alone through the roadway as cars passed by.
Image credits: WLWT5
As a result of the incident, which took place in March 2018, Ford was charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
Ford’s baby and her three other young children were placed in the custody of Child Protective Services.
The child found in the street was also taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
"That is scary. I think that's ridiculous having a 9-month-old baby outside," said Tito Torres, one of the neighbors who assisted the boy.
