A woman from New Zealand was arrested after a bus driver found a two-year-old girl alive in luggage. According to Unilad, police charged the 27-year-old with neglect after her toddler was found stuffed in a suitcase travelling from Northland to Auckland.
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2-Year-Old Found Alive In Luggage Of Bus Compartment
The bag was sitting in the luggage compartment of a bus on Sunday, August 3. Police claimed the woman put the toddler in the closed suitcase with the desire to harm the child.
CNN reported that the bus driver noticed movement in the bag after they stopped in Kaiwaka, per Detective Inspector Simon Harrison in a statement. When opening the compartment for a passenger, they soon discovered the two-year-old.
She visibly appeared very hot, but otherwise, she was unharmed. Once taken to the hospital, doctors noticed a myriad of symptoms she suffered from.
“Namely, suffocation, carbon monoxide poisoning, heat exhaustion, psychological trauma,” said the New Zealand Herald.
Harrison made sure to praise the driver for doing the right thing. “We would like to acknowledge and commend the bus driver, who noticed something wasn’t right and took immediate action, preventing what could have been a far worse outcome,” he said.
According to Radio New Zealand, the little girl was inside the suitcase for almost an hour. She was also wearing no clothing and only had a diaper on.
27-Year-Old Arrested For Neglect
Police eventually found and arrested the woman who was set to appear in North Shore District Court on Monday. Police have yet to reveal her identity to the public. We also don’t know how or if she is related to the child.
InterCity, a bus company, confirmed this incident involved one of their vehicles. It confirmed that it doesn’t charge fares for children under three years old.
If the woman was trying to avoid paying for transporting the girl, she didn’t have to put her in the suitcase. Nevertheless, going to that extent shows that she probably intended to harm the toddler.
The good news is that police confirmed the toddler is “medically well” after the harrowing ordeal. “We appreciate there is high public interest with what has happened,” said Harrison.
“However given the circumstances concerning the child, and the matter being before the Court, we are unable to provide further comment. Our focus is on ensuring the child is well-supported and we are working with Oranga Tamariki in relation to this matter.”