A 1-month-old baby found in a car on the side of an Oklahoma interstate had $5,000 cash and identification documents placed in his car seat, authorities confirm.
NewsOK reports that a church youth group and their van driver spotted the baby boy on Saturday afternoon while driving down Interstate 40. They found the infant around 10 feet from the right shoulder of the interstate, close to Triple X road.
Woman says baby found in car seat on the side of Oklahoma highway https://t.co/pkLdV7L8pl pic.twitter.com/tZrDocmmis
— KFOR (@kfor) September 24, 2017
“You walk up on a baby on the side of the road, and you’re like ‘Wow, you think you got it bad.’ It was not moving. Its eyes were closed. I thought, ‘Lord, don’t let this thing be hurt,'” said Roger Prater, who found the baby while driving youth group members of Abba’s House Worship Center.
“When I went by, he jiggled his feet back and forth and that’s what caught my eyes the most,” Prater continued. “I grabbed the carrier and his eyes popped open. He was well-dressed, no cuts or bruises. The kids on the van, they all kind of teared up.”
Prater said the baby didn’t have any food or water left with him. The temperature outside was around 91 degrees.
Oklahoma woman finds baby in car seat filled with cash sitting by side of highway. "You see this in movies." https://t.co/ZKiurulzdT pic.twitter.com/2QZShxPlYl
— ABC News (@ABC) September 27, 2017
According to Master Sgt. Gary Knight, authorities arrived at the scene after Prater called for help, and found a birth certificate, a social security card, and $5,000 cash hidden in the baby’s car seat.
Emergency workers who responded to the scene indicated that the infant couldn’t have been outside for more than 30 minutes before Prater spotted him. Fortunately, the little boy checked out as “completely healthy” after being transported to the The Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center. He’s now in the care of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
Detectives located the baby’s mother in Texas. It’s still unclear why the baby was left behind, but authorities said the mother is currently undergoing a mental health evaluation.
“We don’t know why she did what she did,” Police Sgt. Gary Knight said. “But people do the strangest things sometimes. I don’t recall seeing a case like this where a baby was just left on the shoulder of the highway. This could have had a very tragic ending.”
It’s up to the Oklahoma County district attorney to decide if the mother will face any charges, ABC reports.
Meanwhile,Sheree Powell, a spokesperson from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services told KOCO that people across the country want to adopt the little boy.
“We’ve received calls today and emails from people in Oklahoma and all over the country who want to adopt this baby. We’re hoping to direct families today on how to find information about becoming a foster parent.”
[Feature Photo: Handout]
