LaPORTE, Ind. – A baby was abandoned twice in one night — first by her mother, who left the child with a man who gave her a ride, and then by the man and his wife, who left the baby at a hospital, police said.
The 5-month-old girl, who was dirty and hungry but otherwise in good heath, was placed in foster care after Sunday's events, police said.
"The main thing is the baby is safe," said LaPorte Police Chief of Detectives Dennis Behenna.
Police said Michael Williams was driving home from work in LaPorte early Sunday when he was stopped by a woman he knows holding her baby. She asked the man to give her a ride to Gary, and when they arrived the woman exited the car and asked Williams to take her baby.
Williams told police he suspected the woman was on drugs and agreed to keep the child. After he arrived home, however, he and his wife wrapped the baby in a blanket, attached a note, drove to a Portage hospital and left the baby on an emergency room counter.
A hospital worker found the baby and notified child welfare officials, who placed her in foster care, police said.
The child's grandmother later reported her daughter and the child missing. The mother checked into a Gary hospital for treatment, police said, and later called police wanting her child back.
Behenna said the case will likely be presented to the LaPorte County prosecutors office to determine if charges will be filed.
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