A Portage la Prairie woman has been arrested and is facing charges of abandoning a child after leaving her 7-month-old baby behind a Portage la Prairie schoolyard this past weekend.
On March 17, 2012, at about 3:45am, Portage la Prairie RCMP as well as local emergency services were dispatched to a complaint of an abandoned baby behind a school in the City of Portage la Prairie.
Investigation indicates that a man had been riding past the location on a bicycle while returning from work and heard a noise that sounded like a cat. He checked, and found a 7-month-old female baby lying in some leaves beside the steps of the school. The baby was dressed only in a sleeper.
The man covered the baby with his jacket until police and EMS arrived. The baby was then transported to hospital and treated for exposure to the cold.
RCMP investigators immediately made patrols of the area and located an abandoned baby carriage, and later an intoxicated female. It was determined that she was the mother of the infant.
A 28-year-old Portage la Prairie woman was arrested and is facing charges of abandoning a child, and failing to provide the necessities of life. She has been released from police custody, and will appear in provincial court at a later date.
