OROVILLE, Calif. — Authorities rescued a woman and her newborn baby after her family says she gave birth in a remote national forest in northern California.
U.S. Forest Service spokesman Chris French said Tuesday that a helicopter pilot responding to a brush fire Saturday first spotted a mother and an infant. Rescue workers on the ground whisked the pair to safety and they were taken to a hospital, French said.
“I cannot confirm the day of birth beyond that she reported to us she had been there for three days,” French said. “Also, her statement to us was that she gave birth at her vehicle within the forest. We did not witness the birth.”
Amber Pangborn, 35, was released from a hospital on Monday, her mother said. The infant, Marissa, remains at the University of California, Davis medical center. Pangborn’s mother, Dianna Williams, said the baby is “doing great.”
According to Pangborn’s mother, her daughter was nine months pregnant and decided to visit an Oroville casino Wednesday to walk around in an attempt to induce labor. Williams said her daughter ended up on a remote road in the national forest and ran out of gas. There was no mobile phone reception, Williams said.
Williams said her daughter told her she went into labor early Thursday morning, unrolled a sleeping bag and gave birth in her car’s backseat.
