Infant Found Abandoned in Times Square

A 1-year-old girl was found alone in a stroller in Times Square late Tuesday night, and New York City police are searching for the person who left her there. (cbsnews.com) Police said officers responded shortly after 11 p.m. on April 21 near West 44th Street and Broadway, where they found the child conscious and alert. She was taken to Northwell Greenwich Village Hospital for evaluation and was later reported in stable condition. (abcnews.com) Investigators are reviewing surveillance video from the area, and police sources told local outlets that footage shows a man pushing the stroller to the spot and walking away. NBC New York reported police spoke with the child’s mother on April 22 and were still trying to locate the father. (nbcnewyork.com) The case quickly shifted from a missing-caregiver search to a child welfare case because the child survived without visible injuries and was moved into city custody. NY1 reported on April 22 that the girl was in the care of the Administration for Children’s Services while police looked for her parents. (ny1.com) Authorities have described the father as the last person seen with the child, and ABC News reported he is being sought for child abandonment and custodial interference. Police also told ABC that he is believed to be homeless and known to spend time around Times Square. (abcnews.com) The location matters because Times Square is one of the city’s busiest pedestrian zones, with police posts, stores and transit entrances packed into a few blocks. Witnesses interviewed by NY1 said the child was left near West 44th Street and Seventh Avenue, steps from an New York Police Department substation in the district. (ny1.com) New York law has a narrow safe-haven option, but it applies only to newborns up to 30 days old who are left safely with an appropriate person at a hospital, police station or fire station. The state Office of Children and Family Services says children older than 30 days are not covered by that anonymous surrender law. (ocfs.ny.gov) For older children, New York City’s 311 guidance says parents who cannot care for a child over 30 days old can contact an Administration for Children’s Services field office to discuss voluntarily transferring custody or giving up parental rights. CBS New York also noted that abandoning a child under 14 outside those legal channels can bring felony exposure under state law. (portal.311.nyc.gov) (cbsnews.com) As of April 23, no arrest had been announced and the investigation was still open. The child was found alive in one of the most heavily trafficked corners of Manhattan, and police are still working backward through cameras and witness accounts to determine exactly how she ended up there. (nbcnewyork.com)