TOOELE, Utah — Multiple Utah police agencies responded to calls of children being abandoned this past weekend because their parents were doing drugs.
It was around 8 p.m. last Friday night when Tooele City Police were called to Skyline Nature Park.
“Our officer arrived and was able to observe a baby boy that had just been born in a vehicle parked in the parking lot of the park," said Cpl. Colbey Bentley.
The mother and her newborn were immediately taken to the hospital.
“It wasn't until the next day at about noon that our officers had been advised that the mother had taken off and had not been seen for about seven hours," said Bentley.
When police located her at a friend’s home, they discovered she was smoking fentanyl.
“I don't doubt there wasn't love for that child, and that there's not love for all these other children, to end up getting abandoned, even if it's just temporarily," said Bentley. "But it just shows how strong that drive is for drugs.”
The woman was arrested Saturday and faces a charge of child abandonment after leaving her baby at Mountain West Medical Center. The newborn is currently in the care of child protective services.
Then on Sunday, a young boy was abandoned by his mother for several hours in a Bluffdale park because she was at home using heroin, according to police.
Chris Smalley, the director of Changes Counseling, said the craving for drugs can be strong enough for someone to abandon their child.
“They feel the need for the medication or for the drugs almost as badly as if they're going to die if they don't get it,” he said.
The state has resources for parents who are battling addiction, said Tonya Myrup, the director of Utah's Division of Child and Family Services.
“We have counseling," she said. "There are family support centers that have crisis nurseries where parents can drop off their children if they need a break. We just want to make sure that as a community, we're doing all that we can to support parents who might be struggling with substance use disorders."
