Mother on drugs when she left baby in Lakewood yard, police say

The Lakewood mother who abandoned her infant early Monday told police she did so because she was on drugs and thought she was being chased, a police spokesman said.

The woman came forward from St. Clare Hospital in Lakewood to say she was the mother after seeing media reports of the child, police spokesman Chris Lawler said in a news release.

The woman will be booked into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of child abandonment after she is medically cleared, Lawler said.

The father was booked into jail on an unrelated misdemeanor warrant.

The child, believed to be about 3 months old, was found about 1:30 a.m. in the 8500 block of John Dower Road Southeast when a passer-by noticed him.

The child, in good health, was taken to and released from a local hospital before being put into protective custody.

The woman told police she did drugs at a Lakewood home and became paranoid Sunday night, Lawler said. She said she took the baby, ran from the home and left the child in a front yard in the hope that someone would find him.

The woman was found running at South 74th Street and Tyler Street about 7 a.m. and taken to St. Clare for treatment, Lawler wrote.

This story was originally published April 3, 2017 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Mother on drugs when she left baby in Lakewood yard, police say."