A one-and-a-half-month-old baby and five other minors were removed this morning from an apartment in the Jardines de Monte Hatillo public housing project in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, amid an investigation into a possible kidnapping. The infant was reported in good condition but was taken to a hospital for a medical evaluation as required by protocol in cases involving minors.
According to the complaint, police began investigating around 4:00 a.m. after the baby's 34-year-old mother alleged that a friend had taken her child. The mother said that the previous day she picked up the friend near a business on Calle Loíza in Santurce, then stepped out to buy soup, leaving the friend and baby in the car; when she returned, both were gone.
Police were later notified that the infant was already back at the mother's residence. The CIC San Juan's Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Division is leading the investigation, and the Department of the Family has been notified, as is standard procedure.