'I Found A Baby': Woman Rescues Boy Wandering Bronx Street Alone On Christmas Day
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Police are trying to determine who should have been watching a young child found wandering streets in the Bronx alone.
Exclusive video captured the moment Marlene Melvin noticed a little boy wearing nothing but a diaper, standing on a stoop near her family's home in Hunts Point, reports CBS2' Valerie Castro.
"He was shaking, he was crying, he was almost in shock as if, like I said, he was standing on concrete steps," said Melvin. "God only knows how long he was there... As a mother, instincts automatically, I picked the baby up and he was reaching for me to pick him up once he saw me."
She noticed the door to 881 Irvine Street wide open. She asked someone inside if they knew who the toddler belonged to, but when she couldn't find anyone responsible for the child, she took him into her care.
"From that point, I crossed the street and went to my family's house," she said. "I dressed the baby, yes I did and I took him around the corner to the firehouse," said Melvin. "It was the first and closest thing I could think of doing to get this child some help."
Firefighters at the scene took the baby in and checked his vital signs.
"There's a woman standing there with a baby and the first thing she said to me was, I found a baby," said one of the firefighters at the firehouse. "He seemed fine, he seemed very calm. EMS came showed up very quickly and took over care of the baby and took him to the hospital."
Melvin says she's calling the incident a Christmas miracle.
"The best present anyone could probably ask for, to be able to be blessed to help someone else," she said.
Sources tell CBS2 a relative was watching the little boy, but that person might have fallen asleep. It's unclear how the boy got outside of the house.
CBS2's Valerie Castro spoke to the boy's mother by phone. She says her son is okay after the ordeal. As of now, no one will be charged.
