A 6-month-old baby was found abandoned in the back seat of a rideshare taxi in Ecatepec, State of Mexico, after the man believed to be the child’s father slipped away on a motorcycle and disappeared into traffic, leaving the infant wet, dirty, and with only a backpack containing two bottles of alcohol and a baby bottle filled with spoiled atole.
The driver, operating a gray Nissan Versa, picked up the man in the colonia Luis Donaldo Colosio. The passenger asked to be taken to Laureles and, once they arrived at a repair shop along the way, stepped out to collect a motorcycle he had waiting there. He told the driver he couldn’t take the baby on the bike and asked him to follow. Within minutes, the man gunned the throttle on vía Morelos and was gone.
The driver did the right thing. He headed toward the fraccionamiento Los Héroes Primera Sección and flagged down a patrol unit. Municipal police officer María Teresa Reséndiz Ramírez, a 20-year veteran, was on patrol in that quadrant when the driver intercepted her. She found the baby in the back seat — wet, soiled, and without any essentials.
“I saw the child in the car, in the back seat, wet and dirty. Right away, I pulled out the wipes I keep in my patrol car and started cleaning him up, but his clothes were very dirty,” she said, according to El Universal. Her supervisors went out and bought diapers and baby food on the spot.
Officers from the municipal Victim Services Unit transported the baby to the Ecatepec offices of the Procuraduría de Protección de Niñas, Niños, Adolescentes y Adultos Mayores — the local child and family protection agency that operates under the DIF system, Mexico’s national family welfare body.
Five hours after the incident, a man identifying himself as Raúl Michell “N” showed up at the agency claiming to be the child’s father and asking for the baby back. He left empty-handed. Procuradora Mariana Uribe Bernal said the man could not establish parentage: the baby has no birth certificate, no official registration, and no CURP — Mexico’s unique population registry code assigned at birth. Authorities also requested the presence of the child’s mother, who has not appeared.
Uribe Bernal told reporters a formal complaint will be filed with the Ministerio Público, the equivalent of a district attorney’s office, and that the baby will remain in the care of the Casa Hogar de Ecatepec, a municipal shelter. “We will initiate a complaint before the Ministerio Público,” she said. “The baby will remain under DIF care and sheltered at the Casa Hogar, where we will work to protect his safety and restore his rights.”
Municipal authorities have not confirmed whether an active investigation is underway to locate Raúl Michell “N” or the child’s mother.
Ecatepec, located just north of Mexico City in the State of Mexico, is one of the country’s most populous municipalities, with an estimated 1.7 million residents. The city has a long track record of elevated social vulnerability and crime. Child abandonment cases in Mexico are handled at the state and municipal level through the DIF network, which operates shelters and family protection offices across the country.
Source: Excélsior.
At a Glance
- A 6-month-old baby boy was left alone in a rideshare taxi in Ecatepec, State of Mexico, on May 15
- The man suspected to be his father fled on a motorcycle after stopping at a repair shop
- The baby was wet, soiled, and without proper supplies; officers bought diapers and baby food
- A man later identified as Raúl Michell “N” claimed paternity at the DIF office but could not prove it
- The child has no birth certificate, no registration, and no CURP
- The baby is in the custody of the Casa Hogar de Ecatepec pending a formal investigation
- Authorities plan to file a complaint with the Ministerio Público