A mother was arrested after reportedly abandoning her 2-year-old daughter with an off-duty police officer before walking off.
Carolina Vizcarra from Miami, Florida, was taken into custody on child abandonment charges but pleaded with police that she left her little girl with a stranger in the name of safety.
Vizcarra allegedly went up to the police officer at Mercy Hospital, gave him her daughter’s social security card, and informed him she was going to look for the bathroom.
“One of our Miami Police officers was in plain clothes attending to a family matter at a nearby hospital when he was approached by an unknown woman who had a toddler in hand and claimed that she wanted to go to the restroom and to please watch after this little girl,” Miami Police spokesperson Kenia Fallat told WSVN.
And as Vizcarra went into the bathroom, the officer said had a gut feeling that something was off.
“He went into officer mode, waiting for this unknown woman to come out of the actual restroom and she just vanished,” Fallat shared.
The officer later tracked Vizcarra down and told her “You don’t have to do this.” To which she allegedly replied, “Leave me alone,” before walking out of the hospital.
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And with Vizcarra’s daughter, there was “only go so far [he could go] and follow her,” Fallat said. “He immediately called for help.”
Police issued a “Be On the Lookout” alert for Vizcarra but they were unable to find her, that is, until the mother herself called police at about 5 p.m. on October 12. The woman said she was at the hospital looking for her daughter and gave a complete description of her daughter’s clothing.
Three officers went to the hospital to speak with the mom and she admitted why she left her daughter.
She informed them: “It’s not like I just left her. It’s a hospital and I was worried for her. I was thinking, ‘I am about to sleep on the streets, but not her.'”
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The woman was arrested and her young daughter was placed in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
A family member did come forward before the mom was found, but police are working to confirm the person’s relationship to the toddler before giving her over to their custody.
While Vizcarra gave police a reason why she abandoned her girl, there are still many questions surrounding the situation.
“We want to know what her mental state was,” Fallat said. “We want to know what she was thinking when she was handing off her child to this unknown man.”
Vizcarra was taken to jail and held on a $5,000 bond and was brought to court on October 13, according to Fox 13.
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