Family finds baby in alley with father passed out

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The Department of Child Services is investigating after a man says he found a baby near a dumpster on the city’s east side, next to his apparently passed out father.

Justin Robinson says he found the baby crying near his father in an alley near Euclid and Washington Street.

“I heard a baby crying so I peeked around the garage, and I seen a car seat, and a man,” said Robinson.

Robinson says his initial thoughts were centered on the baby.

“A baby in a dark alley at night? I’m 25 years old and I know it’s not safe for me in that alley, let alone a 9-month-old baby," he said.

Police reports identify the baby as 1-year-old. Robinson says he helped the man to his house, and told him to sleep on the porch. Robinson says he took the baby to Stacey Garcia, his sister, for a closer look.

“The baby had no clothes, no diapers, no nothing, no nothing at all. He had him in a little blanket, sleeper thing. It was all full of feces,” said Garcia.

She says the baby had a rash covering his body, and it took them two baths to get him clean. Over the course of two nights, she says the baby’s father told them he was going to look for shelter, and said he would get back to them: but he never did. Finally, she says they called for an ambulance for the baby.

Police say they’ve turned the investigation over to DCS. A DCS spokesperson says the department can’t comment on open cases, so it’s unclear how the baby is doing, or where he is now.

What we do know is that the numbers seem to be trending upwards when it comes to reports of child abuse and neglect in the state. In April of 2011, Indiana’s Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline took in 13,684 calls. In April of 2012, the hotline took in 14,286. Officials say calls tend to go up in the warmer months and when school starts.