Chrome Posted May 19, 2004 Report Posted May 19, 2004 (edited) Officials issue appeal to ID abandoned girl 'I want my mommy' Wednesday, May 19, 2004 Posted: 11:17 AM EDT (1517 GMT) Editor's Note: Officials asked anyone with information about Courtney or her family to call the Department of Social Services at (410) 361-2235. The child, pictured here on Monday, told authorities that her name is Courtney and she is from Brooklyn. [see photo below] BALTIMORE, Maryland (AP) -- Authorities appealed to the public to identify an abandoned 3-year-old girl who says her name is Courtney, she's from Brooklyn and she wants her mommy. The little girl was found May 5 when the father dropped her off with a stranger at an unknown location in Baltimore, Sue Fitzsimmons, a spokeswoman for the city Department of Social Services, said Monday. He said he was leaving to cash a money order, but he never returned and the stranger called police. The child told authorities she is from Brooklyn, New York. She said she and her father had been living in a Baltimore warehouse. The girl has been in foster care since she was found. Fitzsimmons said Monday that if Courtney's relatives do not come forward to claim her, she will be permanently placed with a family in Baltimore. "We want to do everything we can to find out who she is," Fitzsimmons said. "We hope someone is looking for her." In New York, police Sgt. Kevin Hays said Wednesday that the NYPD had no leads at this time on the girl's identity. He said Baltimore authorities continued to investigate. At Monday's news conference, Courtney played with toys and posed for pictures wearing a black-and-white summer outfit, her hair in neat cornrows. When a reporter asked her a question, she wept and said: "I want my mommy." With that, Fitzsimmons picked her up, and the news conference ended. The girl was also featured Wednesday on NBC's "Today." Edited May 19, 2004 by Chrome Quote
vajerzy Posted May 19, 2004 Report Posted May 19, 2004 Cute little girl........if the parents are ok, they have some explaining to do. She may be better off in a foster home and eventually with a family who loves her. Kids cannot choose their parents- unfortunately..... Quote
Dan Gould Posted May 19, 2004 Report Posted May 19, 2004 The stranger doesn't know who the father is, just accepted the chld? Quote
BruceH Posted May 20, 2004 Report Posted May 20, 2004 Cute little girl........if the parents are ok, they have some explaining to do. She may be better off in a foster home and eventually with a family who loves her. Kids cannot choose their parents- unfortunately..... If they could, I would have chosen some richer ones. Quote
Jazzmoose Posted May 20, 2004 Report Posted May 20, 2004 I can't help but wonder if the father didn't kidnap her in a custody dispute; her mother may be pulling her hair out trying to find her right now. I wouldn't jump to conclusions on both parents. Quote
BruceH Posted May 20, 2004 Report Posted May 20, 2004 her mother may be pulling her hair out trying to find her right now. No doubt having her picture on THIS board will help! Quote
Hardbopjazz Posted May 20, 2004 Report Posted May 20, 2004 Stories like these make me sick to my stomach. Whomever is at falult, be it the mother or father or bother, they should be held accountable. Poor little girl, she must be very scared. Quote
RainyDay Posted May 20, 2004 Report Posted May 20, 2004 How heartbreaking is this story? It doesn't even sound like there is a missing person report out on this kid. I'm a betting person. I put my money on crackheads. People should be required to successfully pass some sort of test before they are allowed to reproduce themselves. You have to have a license to own a dog, even the dog pound checks you out before you can adopt. But any jackass can make a child. Jesus H. Christ. Quote
7/4 Posted May 20, 2004 Report Posted May 20, 2004 They ran this story on the Today show this morning. Sad. Quote
couw Posted May 20, 2004 Report Posted May 20, 2004 People should be required to successfully pass some sort of test before they are allowed to reproduce themselves. Quote
7/4 Posted May 20, 2004 Report Posted May 20, 2004 People should be required to successfully pass some sort of test before they are allowed to reproduce themselves. Quote
jack Posted May 20, 2004 Report Posted May 20, 2004 Stories like these make me sick to my stomach. Whomever is at falult, be it the mother or father or bother, they should be held accountable. Poor little girl, she must be very scared. Yes, a very sad story. I saw this story on the 'Today' show this morning. Quote
PHILLYQ Posted May 21, 2004 Report Posted May 21, 2004 (edited) I'm a betting person. I put my money on crackheads. My wife and I were talking about this poor kid today, and I think that the parents might be crackheads also. Crackheads would do something like that because their addiction is so strong that it obliterates everything else. The other factor that leads me to believe that her folks are crackheads is that she's 3 1/2 and doesn't know her last name or her address. Most kids that age know their last name and address, so I think she may be a child of crackheads. Edited May 21, 2004 by PHILLYQ Quote
PHILLYQ Posted May 21, 2004 Report Posted May 21, 2004 Here's a story from the NY Post on the efforts to identify the girl: TOT I.D. BLITZ By MARSHA KRANES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Email Archives Print Reprint May 20, 2004 -- Photos of little Courtney, the abandoned 31/2-year-old who doesn't remember her last name, are being shown to staffers at all homeless facilities in New York City in a bid to find someone who recognizes the tot and can help reunite her with her family. The adorable toddler, who says she's from Brooklyn and misses her mom, has been in a temporary foster home in Baltimore since May 5 - three days after a man identifying himself as her father left her with a stranger and never returned. The New York City Department of Homeless Services, working with The Post, yesterday said it would begin circulating a picture of the pint-size toddler "to all family facilities in the city in hopes that it can provide helpful information," a spokesman said. The Post had sought the department's help after a reader called to say that Courtney "looks very familiar — she looks like a girl who once lived in a shelter in The Bronx." "I remember her face," said the caller, a former employee of the Jackson Avenue Family Residence in Mott Haven. She noted that shelter residents "regularly move around between sites" and the girl she recalls may have settled in Brooklyn after leaving the Bronx facility. At The Post's behest, the DHS began showing Courtney's photo to staffers at the Bronx shelter late yesterday, and agreed to broaden its effort after no one there recognized the youngster. There are about 150 family shelters in the city, the DHS spokesman said. The department's action delighted officials in Baltimore. "It's wonderful," said Sue Fitzsimmons, spokeswoman for the Baltimore Department of Social Services. "We're thrilled . . . We know if someone who knows her sees her picture, they'll want to help her." The man who identified himself as Courtney's dad left her with a woman in a Baltimore apartment building on May 2, explaining that he had to cash some money orders to pay the rent on an apartment in the building. He told the woman that he and his daughter had been living in an abandoned warehouse. When he failed to return after three days, the woman contacted police and Courtney was turned over to child-welfare officials. Since then, Courtney has been living in a foster home with other children while caseworkers try to track down her family. But the youngster has given them very little information to work with. She has told them her name, her age, and that's she's Puerto Rican and from Brooklyn. But she doesn't know her birthday, or the names of the mother she cries for or the father who abandoned her. And she hasn't mentioned any brothers or sisters or any other relatives. As soon as The Post reported Courtney's plight, readers started calling and e-mailing with offers of help. Several said they wanted either to adopt her or welcome her into their home as a foster child. Joanne Capestro of Brooklyn called to say, "I'm a 9/11 survivor, and I've always felt God left me here for a reason. I wish I could foster-mom her. She's all alone." Several readers sug gested that Courtney may be from another Brooklyn - perhaps the neighborhood known as Brooklyn on Baltimore's border with Glen Burnie, Md. But Baltimore child-welfare workers said Courtney was quite specific when asked where she lived. "She told them, 'Brooklyn, New York,' " said Fitzsimmons. Fitzsimmons said there's a lesson for par ents: "Children need to learn their complete name - not just their nickname - as well as the names of their father and mother." If Courtney had been given that information, she said, "there would be ways to find her in the system." Back to: Regional News | National News | World News | Home -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW YORK POST is a registered trademark of NYP Holdings, Inc. NYPOST.COM, NYPOSTONLINE.COM, and NEWYORKPOST.COM are trademarks of NYP Holdings, Inc. Copyright 2004 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved. Quote
RainyDay Posted May 21, 2004 Report Posted May 21, 2004 Here's a story from the NY Post on the efforts to identify the girl: TOT I.D. BLITZ By MARSHA KRANES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Email Archives Print Reprint May 20, 2004 -- Photos of little Courtney, the abandoned 31/2-year-old who doesn't remember her last name, are being shown to staffers at all homeless facilities in New York City in a bid to find someone who recognizes the tot and can help reunite her with her family. The adorable toddler, who says she's from Brooklyn and misses her mom, has been in a temporary foster home in Baltimore since May 5 - three days after a man identifying himself as her father left her with a stranger and never returned. The New York City Department of Homeless Services, working with The Post, yesterday said it would begin circulating a picture of the pint-size toddler "to all family facilities in the city in hopes that it can provide helpful information," a spokesman said. The Post had sought the department's help after a reader called to say that Courtney "looks very familiar — she looks like a girl who once lived in a shelter in The Bronx." "I remember her face," said the caller, a former employee of the Jackson Avenue Family Residence in Mott Haven. She noted that shelter residents "regularly move around between sites" and the girl she recalls may have settled in Brooklyn after leaving the Bronx facility. At The Post's behest, the DHS began showing Courtney's photo to staffers at the Bronx shelter late yesterday, and agreed to broaden its effort after no one there recognized the youngster. There are about 150 family shelters in the city, the DHS spokesman said. The department's action delighted officials in Baltimore. "It's wonderful," said Sue Fitzsimmons, spokeswoman for the Baltimore Department of Social Services. "We're thrilled . . . We know if someone who knows her sees her picture, they'll want to help her." The man who identified himself as Courtney's dad left her with a woman in a Baltimore apartment building on May 2, explaining that he had to cash some money orders to pay the rent on an apartment in the building. He told the woman that he and his daughter had been living in an abandoned warehouse. When he failed to return after three days, the woman contacted police and Courtney was turned over to child-welfare officials. Since then, Courtney has been living in a foster home with other children while caseworkers try to track down her family. But the youngster has given them very little information to work with. She has told them her name, her age, and that's she's Puerto Rican and from Brooklyn. But she doesn't know her birthday, or the names of the mother she cries for or the father who abandoned her. And she hasn't mentioned any brothers or sisters or any other relatives. As soon as The Post reported Courtney's plight, readers started calling and e-mailing with offers of help. Several said they wanted either to adopt her or welcome her into their home as a foster child. Joanne Capestro of Brooklyn called to say, "I'm a 9/11 survivor, and I've always felt God left me here for a reason. I wish I could foster-mom her. She's all alone." Several readers sug gested that Courtney may be from another Brooklyn - perhaps the neighborhood known as Brooklyn on Baltimore's border with Glen Burnie, Md. But Baltimore child-welfare workers said Courtney was quite specific when asked where she lived. "She told them, 'Brooklyn, New York,' " said Fitzsimmons. Fitzsimmons said there's a lesson for par ents: "Children need to learn their complete name - not just their nickname - as well as the names of their father and mother." If Courtney had been given that information, she said, "there would be ways to find her in the system." Back to: Regional News | National News | World News | Home -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW YORK POST is a registered trademark of NYP Holdings, Inc. NYPOST.COM, NYPOSTONLINE.COM, and NEWYORKPOST.COM are trademarks of NYP Holdings, Inc. Copyright 2004 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved. I hope she finds a wonderful loving home to go to because I think returning her to her parents would be a disaster. It's just a crime how children are treated like property and how the wishes of the toxic parents put before the welfare of the child. I could be wrong and maybe she has a loving mother who is searching for her. But I doubt it. What a horrible way for one so young to be sent out into the world. Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted May 21, 2004 Report Posted May 21, 2004 from CNN: Abandoned girl's parents come forward Quote
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