BALTIMORE – Darlene Carroll was certain her 14-year-old son Malik was joking when he opened the front door of their Annapolis home Friday morning and told her there was a newborn on the porch.
Carroll said in a phone interview that Malik handed her the baby boy and called 911. While waiting for first responders, she held the baby. "He just cuddled up in my arms, like he knew me" Carroll said. "He just sucked on his thumb, never whimpered."
Carroll, who runs a day care in her home, said she is certain the baby's mother knew that.
Her husband, the Rev. Charles Carroll, also was home when the baby was found.
"We thank God we were able to get the baby to the hospital," he told The Annapolis Capital. Charles Carroll is pastor of New Creations Deliverance Ministries in Annapolis.
Cpl. Amy Miguez, a spokeswoman for the Annapolis Police Department, said personnel at the hospital where the infant was taken said he was just hours old.
No one knocked on the door or rang the bell when the baby was left, Miguez said. Detectives didn't hear the infant cry until it got routine vaccine shots at the hospital, she added.
The boy, who Police Chief Scott Baker said is Hispanic, was found with a small purple women's shirt and a black Adidas hooded jacket with red stripes on the sleeves. Police are asking for the baby's mother to come forward because she might need medical attention or be the victim of a crime. Miguez told The Capitol that police can't guarantee that the mother won't be charged if she comes forward.
Baker reminded residents that under Maryland's Safe Haven law, a woman can safely surrender custody of her infant child, no questions asked, at a hospital or police station.
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