New York City police on Tuesday released images of a woman wanted for questioning after an infant girl with her umbilical cord still attached was abandoned at a busy midtown Manhattan subway station.
The baby was left Monday in a passageway at the 34th Street-Penn Station subway stop during the typically crowded morning rush hour. The subway stop is attached to the broader Penn Station complex — the country’s busiest rail hub, which sits underneath the Madison Square Garden arena.
Authorities are asking for the public’s help in identifying the woman, who is seen on a 2-second security camera video clip on a city sidewalk carrying something that appears to be wrapped in a bundle and holding it like someone would hold a baby. Police are calling it a case of endangering the welfare of a child.
The infant was found unattended and wrapped in a blanket, police said. She was taken to a hospital for an evaluation and listed in stable condition.
Police said they received reports that an unidentified person left the baby in the station and fled. Officials cordoned off a section of the passageway and a staircase with yellow tape afterward.
New York has a law that allows a parent to relinquish a newborn up to 30 days old at a hospital, or staffed police or fire station without fear of being prosecuted.
(AP)