Baby abducted in Juarez, smuggled into US, back in Mexico

A baby allegedly abducted in Juarez and smuggled into the U.S. is back in Mexico.

Mexican news outlet, “Norte Digital” reports the 26-day-old baby was abducted in Juarez Thanksgiving Day then crossed over the Santa Fe bridge and taken to Roswell, N.M.

Roswell Police tell ABC-7 a 30-year-old woman showed up in that city with the baby. The woman’s sister alerted authorities.

“There was a number of different medical and health and pregnancy issues that involved this woman and obviously the sister was aware of those things and that’s what led her to those suspicions,” Todd Wildermuth, Spokesman for the Roswell Police Department said.

Police then went to the woman’s home to question her and her family. Police say the woman told them she had the baby at MountainView Hospital in Las Cruces.

“(We) questioned them, questioned other family members, and contacted the hospital where the lady said she supposedly had the baby. We checked their records and were able to determinethe lady was not able to prove very well that this was her recently born baby,” Wildermuth said, adding the woman then changed her story, telling police her cousin gave her the baby.

“It was later that night as more questions came up and she was unable to confirm that this was her baby, that she changed her story to say that she got the baby from her cousin who gave it to her in El Paso, her cousin coming up from Mexico to meet her and give her the baby to raise herself,” Wildermuth said.

Police say that’s when they took the baby and placed her in custody of Children, Families and Youth. With the help of Mexican authorities they were able to identify the baby as Andrea Roman.

The Mexican Consulate of El Paso arranged a return and posted a picture of officials by the bridge on their Facebook page with a caption saying: “Returning the 26-day-old baby to authorities.”

Roger Maier, with Customs and Border Protection could not comment on the case or how the woman was able to cross the baby over, but sent Abc-7 the following statement:

“While CBP cannot speak about individual encounters because of privacy provisions, CBP can state that all people entering the U.S. are subject to inspection to confirm that they are admissible. If a traveler has not yet received a birth certificate for an infant, CBP can accept either the birth record issued by the hospital, a letter on hospital letterhead or a letter from the doctor who delivered the child providing details of the birth, including the name of the child, time and place of birth, and names of parents. CBP officers will utilize their experience, interview techniques and available technology combined with information provided by the traveler to determine admissibility. If someone is found to be smuggling an infant (or any person) through a port of entry by using documents belonging to a different person (imposter) or by making a false claim for citizenship that person can be arrested and prosecuted for alien smuggling. Those charges can be retroactively applied if a violation is discovered after the fact.”

The woman is not in custody and has not been charged with anything. Roswell Police say they’re working with the FBI in New Mexico to determine if there was indeed an abduction.