THE woman who told police she found a newborn baby girl abandoned in a box along a South Oropouche roadway has been identified as the infant’s mother and is now in police custody as investigators probe whether a crime was committed.The 23-year-old woman initially claimed she discovered the baby inside a black plastic bag in a cardboard box last Thursday. Police sources reported investigators subsequently questioned her about the circumstances surrounding the child’s discovery and she eventually admitted that she was the mother. The development has raised questions about the circumstances in which the baby was left at the roadside and whether the woman’s actions amount to a criminal offence.The newborn girl is now in the care of the Children’s Authority and is being kept in the paediatric unit of the San Fernando General Hospital while the investigation continues.The infant was initially taken to the Point Fortin Hospital after she was brought to the Oropouche Police Station on August 20. At around 12.30 p.m. that day, the woman arrived at the station with a newborn girl inside a black plastic bag wrapped in a blanket.She had initially told police that around 12.15 p.m. she was walking along St Mary’s Road, South Oropouche, near the South Oropouche Government Primary School, when she noticed a cardboard box at the side of the roadway. She claimed she heard a baby crying from inside the box and, upon checking, saw the newborn inside the plastic bag with the umbilical cord still attached.She reportedly took the infant to the home of a 47-year-old man in St Mary’s Village before the two went to the police station. At the station, the baby was placed in a diaper and then taken by emergency response personnel to the Point Fortin Hospital.A paediatrician examined the child and estimated that she was about three to four days old. The baby was reported to be in good health and a medical certificate was obtained.Police crime scene investigators also visited the location where the woman claimed the baby had been found and processed the area. The surroundings were canvassed for CCTV footage.The Express visited the area on Sunday in an effort to locate the man who had reportedly accompanied the woman to the police station. However, residents were unable to identify him, and no one knew the identity of the woman at the time.Investigators subsequently uncovered information that led to the woman being questioned about her account.