A woman was spotted strolling through New York City with a newborn baby just before allegedly abandoning the infant in a bustling subway station.
Surveillance footage released by the police captured an unidentified woman making her way to the 34th Street-Penn Station stop in Midtown Manhattan. The baby girl, still with her umbilical cord attached, 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.
Authorities were notified about the abandoned infant following an anonymous 911 call. The newborn was swiftly taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she was described as being in stable condition and alert.
State officials confirmed 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 at this time.
During a press conference, New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow referred to the incident as the “Miracle on 34th Street,” commending the emergency responders for their swift actions in rescuing and caring for the baby.
Under New York State law, abandoning a child under 14 years old is considered a felony. However, the Abandoned Infant Protection Act offers protection to parents who leave a newborn in a safe location like a hospital, police station, or fire station, allowing them to avoid prosecution without the need to disclose their identity if the baby is under 30 days old.
Instances of babies being abandoned in the city subway system are rare. In a previous case in July 2014, a homeless woman, Frankea Dabbs, was charged with leaving her 11-month-old daughter at Columbus Circle in Manhattan, citing overwhelming circumstances after the child’s father’s tragic death. Unfortunately, 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 known as “baby Ace” due to being found on the A/C/E train lines, was eventually adopted by the man, Danny Stewart, and his husband, Peter Mercurio.