NEWBORN BABY COVERED IN ANTS

WHILE searching in a bushy area near his home for a piece of stick to make a bow and arrow, an 11-year-old boy yesterday stumbled across a naked newborn baby girl who was lying in the bushes — her tiny body covered in ants and cockroaches. Only a few hours old, the baby’s umbilical cord was still attached to her body which was lying on an old piece of cloth behind a coconut tree, about ten-feet off Johnson Trace Link Road in Rancho Quemado. The umbilical cord was tied with a piece of string, which was also attached to the child’s left arm.

Police told Newsday when they came across the tiny baby girl, her pulse was weak. The baby was first taken to the Siparia Health Centre and then the Accident and Emer-gency Department of San Fernando General Hospital, where up to late yesterday she was being treated and monitored by doctors and nurses. Investigators believe the baby was dumped sometime in the wee hours of yesterday morning as residents reported seeing a strange black car circling the area around that time. The baby’s parents are unknown. Michael Taitt, 11, who is being hailed as a hero by villagers, stayed home from school yesterday after complaining of not feeling well. The youngster told Newsday that around 2.15 pm he was at his neighbour’s home making a bow and arrow, but he needed a piece of stick. Taitt, who was accompanied by his father while being interviewed by Newsday, said when he was in the bushes hunting for the right piece of stick, he heard a “bawl.”

“I did not think it was a baby, I thought it was something else, so I continued looking around for the stick. I mashed something and when I looked down I saw the baby, naked and lying on a old piece of cloth,” Taitt said. Taitt said the baby was crying and there were ants and cockroaches crawling over her body. He said the baby had ant bite marks near her ankles. Taitt said he called his older sister, Giselle Diaz, 16, who cuddled the baby and took her to their home. He said his father then called the police who arrived minutes later and took the baby to the health centre. Up to late yesterday investigators did not have any leads as to the identity of the baby’s parents. PC Jaglal of Santa Flora Police Station is continuing investigations.