Mt. Prospect mother charged with abandoning newborn

A 21-year-old Mount Prospect mother has been charged with abandoning her newborn daughter, who was found alive last month in Franklin Park a pile of debris.

Adriana Garcia, of the 2000 block of Algonquin Road, was arrested Wednesday by Franklin Park police and charged with reckless conduct and endangering the life or health of a child, Police Chief Thomas Wolfe said.

It took police 17 days to track down Garcia, who was released on a $100 bond. Scavengers found the 2-week-old girl in a seat carrier beneath a pile of trash around 5 a.m. Sept. 30 near Lee Street and Belmont Avenue.

Dubbed Baby Jessica by hospital staff, the Department of Child and Family Services has placed the child in the care of foster parents in Schaumburg, Wolfe said. Garcia also has a 22-month-old son.

"I don't know if she was overwhelmed by the birth of the second baby or what. I'm not going to speculate on that," Wolfe said.

After the newborn was found, authorities released images of her in hopes of finding her parents. That led to an anonymous tip by someone who recognized the baby's clothing from seeing her at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, Wolfe said. Garcia had given birth in an ambulance on route to the hospital on Sept. 16.

After getting the tip, police used hospital room phone records to find Garcia, who'd given a false name and birth date at the hospital, Wolfe said.

She also hid the pregnancy from her family, he said.

Doctors released the mother from the hospital on Sept. 18, and released the healthy baby to Garcia's care Sept. 29. Garcia has no connections to Franklin Park, Wolfe said, but was just driving around the area with the child after the baby was released from the hospital. The child was left alone for 5 hours before she was found, Wolfe said.

DCFS is also investigating Garcia's care of her son, Wolfe said.

State law allows parents to relinquish care of newborns who are less than 8 days old at staffed police and fire stations or hospitals and emergency care centers without questions.

Garcia has a Nov. 13 court date at the Maywood courthouse.