A woman was spotted strolling through New York City with a newborn baby just before allegedly leaving the child at a busy subway station.
Surveillance footage released by the police captured an unidentified woman heading towards the 34th Street-Penn Station stop in Midtown Manhattan. The baby girl was discovered wrapped in a blanket at the base of a staircase in a subway passageway leading to the northbound platform of the No. 1 train around 9:30 am on Monday, as per investigators.
Authorities were informed about the infant following an anonymous 911 call. The newborn was swiftly taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she was reported to be stable and alert.
State officials revealed that the baby still had her umbilical cord attached, as reported by The New York Times.
The woman seen in the surveillance footage is being sought for questioning by the police, with no arrests made yet.
During a press conference, New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow referred to the incident as the “Miracle on 34th Street,” commending the FDNY and police for their swift response in locating and caring for the unattended baby.
Under New York State law, abandoning a child under 14 years old is considered a felony. However, the Abandoned Infant Protection Act permits a parent to avoid prosecution if they leave a newborn in a secure location like a hospital, police station, or fire station. Parents are not obligated to disclose their identity if the baby is under 30 days old.
Instances of infants being abandoned in the city’s subway system are uncommon. In a similar case in July 2014, a 20-year-old homeless woman, Frankea Dabbs, was charged with abandoning her 11-month-old daughter at Columbus Circle in Manhattan. She cited feeling overwhelmed after the child’s father’s death at the hands of intruders. Tragically, Dabbs was later found deceased in the Mississippi River.
In a heartwarming incident in August 2000, a man discovered a newborn boy on the floor of the subway station at 14th Street and Eighth Avenue. The baby, affectionately named “baby Ace” for being found on the A/C/E train lines, was eventually adopted by the man, Danny Stewart, and his husband, Peter Mercurio.