MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An 11-month-old child was found unattended in a women’s restroom in an airport-area truck stop early Saturday morning.
Officers arrived at the Love’s Truck Stop at the intersection of Lamar and American Way just after 3 a.m., where they found the child in the restroom. The child did not seem to be injured, police said, but the child was still taken to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital to make sure there were no injuries.
Child Protective Services was notified about the child.
Officers were told that a woman went into the restroom with the child, and she left without the child. Police were able to find her at a different location and detain her.
Even though the woman was detained, no charges have currently been filed. The investigation is ongoing.
Timothy Lewis, a customer at the convenience store when WREG was there, has been a foster parent to more than 30 children. He said he understands the love it takes to raise boys and girls.
“They need somebody to love them,” Lewis said. “You show them love, listen to them, you’re good to go.”
That’s why he was sympathetic when hearing about the incident at the truck stop, which he visits multiple times a week.
“(She) could’ve left the baby out here desolate, out here cold, but you left the baby in a warm place, which is good for someone else to take care of it,” Lewis said.
Lewis said he knows some parents can struggle, but this mother should still be held accountable.
“She’s held responsible for what happened, something should be done to her, but you have to take into consideration she could’ve left the baby anywhere, behind the tracks, could’ve gotten run over,” he said.
Police said the baby is fine—something other parents we spoke with at the store were thankful about.