Colorado Springs police are urging a couple trying to give away their newborn child on Craigslist to instead take the baby to a fire station or hospital.
Department spokesman Sgt. Steve Noblitt said that officers first received information about the Craigslist ad Friday night.
Although there were reports Saturday that the ad was a hoax, Noblitt said the Police Department has received no information to support that statement.
Noblitt said there is an ongoing investigation and the couple or the person who has placed the ad has not been located.
The couple weren’t asking for money for the child. They said they were desperate, couldn’t keep the baby and “were thinking of throwing it in a Dumpster,” Noblitt said.
Noblitt said that last night, officers searched an area where the couple may have accessed the Internet to place the ad but were unable to locate the couple.
He said that the couple most likely used an unsecure wireless connection to access the Internet.
He said that authorities want the couple to know about Colorado’s Safe Haven law.
The law allows parents to leave the child at any fire station or hospital emergency room.
It also protects the parents from criminal charges of child abuse, child neglect or abandonment of the child.
Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to call the Colorado Springs Police Department at 719-444-7000, or they can remain anonymous by calling 719-634-STOP.
Noblitt said the ad has been taken down from Craigslist.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
