A woman sought for questioning about the baby girl found abandoned on a New York Penn Station subway platform earlier this week has been arrested, investigators said Wednesday.
The 30-year-old woman is believed to be the mother of the newborn left on the southbound platform of the No. 1 train Monday, two law enforcement sources said. She lives in Queens and was taken into custody there. She was later charged with child abandonment and endangering the welfare of a child, police said.
The charges come a day after authorities released a photo of a woman holding a baby captured by surveillance cameras in the area near where the child was found.
The baby was wrapped in a blanket and still had her umbilical cord attached, according to investigators. She was evaluated at a hospital and is expected to be OK. The investigation is ongoing.
The state of New York has a “safe haven” law, or the Abandoned Infant Protection Act, where a parent can abandon “a newborn baby up to 30 days of age anonymously and without fear of prosecution — if the baby is abandoned in a safe manner.”
In the case of the law, the parent must abandon the baby in a safe location, such as a hospital, staffed police station or staffed fire station, provided they also notify an “appropriate person,” according to the Office of Children and Family Services.
More information on New York’s Abandoned Infant Protection Act is available by calling 1-866-505-SAFE (7233).
