Mother who took ailing newborn from Phoenix hospital arrested for alleged child abuse
Jul 13, 2023, 12:20 PM | Updated: 3:07 pm
(Rosa Santana - Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and Phoenix Police Department Photos)
(Rosa Santana - Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and Phoenix Police Department Photos)
PHOENIX – The mother who took her newborn baby from a Phoenix hospital Wednesday against medical advice, triggering an Amber Alert, has been arrested for alleged child abuse, authorities said.
Rosa Santana, 24, was booked into Maricopa County Jail on one count of abuse of a vulnerable child Thursday after being arrested in west Phoenix the previous night.
Officers responded to a missing child call around 1:10 p.m. Wednesday at the Valleywise Medical Health at 24th and Roosevelt streets, the Phoenix Police Department said.
They learned that Santana put her son, who was 5 days old at the time, in a duffle bag and left the hospital with him.
The child had been receiving treatment at the hospital, and his life was in danger without it.
Investigators developed leads and tracked the mother and child to an apartment complex near 71st Avenue and Indian School Road.
The baby was returned to the hospital to continue his treatments, and Santana was taken into custody, police said.
The Amber Alert was issued around 7 p.m. and canceled about three hours later. The Arizona Department of Public Safety said the infant was attached to a feeding tube when he was taken.
“Valleywise Health took immediate action to search for the mother and infant and is fully cooperating with law enforcement,” the hospital said in a statement after the Amber Alert was issued.
“We believe that the safety and security of each patient is integral to the mission of our hospital.”
