1-Year-Old Abandoned In Times Square
- NYPD discovered a one-year-old child abandoned in Times Square and took the child into protective custody. - Police said they are investigating how long the baby was alone and who left the child. - Child welfare agencies and prosecutors are involved as officials seek leads and public assistance (patch.com).
A 1-year-old girl was found alone in a stroller in Times Square late Tuesday night, and New York City police are trying to find who left her there. (cbsnews.com) Police said officers found the child near West 44th Street and Broadway at about 11 p.m. on April 21 after responding to a 911 call about a possible crime in the area. The girl was conscious and alert when officers reached her. (cbsnews.com) Emergency crews took the child to Northwell Greenwich Village Hospital for evaluation, and officials said she was expected to be OK. By Wednesday night, the child was in the custody of the New York City Administration for Children’s Services. (cbsnews.com) (ny1.com) Investigators are reviewing surveillance video from Times Square and searching for the child’s father, according to police sources cited by multiple New York outlets. ABC7 reported police believe the man is known to spend time in the area. (abc7ny.com) (abcnews.com) The case quickly moved beyond a street-level police response because the child is too old to fall under New York’s safe-surrender law for newborns. New York City says the state’s Abandoned Infant Protection Act applies only to infants up to 30 days old who are left safely with appropriate people or at suitable locations such as hospitals, police stations, or fire stations. (portal.311.nyc.gov) That means the focus now is on identifying the adult who left the child, determining how long she was alone, and deciding whether criminal charges or family-court action are warranted. Patch reported that child-welfare agencies and prosecutors were brought into the case as detectives sought leads and public assistance. (patch.com) Times Square is one of the city’s busiest pedestrian zones, packed with tourists, commuters, street vendors, and police patrols at most hours. The child was found in that high-traffic stretch rather than in a residence, subway station, or parked car, making surveillance footage a central part of the investigation. (ny1.com) (abcnews.com) As of Wednesday evening, police had announced no arrest and had not publicly identified the child or the adult they were seeking. The next step is whether video, witness accounts, or family contacts allow detectives to locate the person who left a toddler alone in the middle of Times Square. (cbsnews.com) (nbcnewyork.com)
