Police recover newborn abducted from Gandia hospital after positive cocaine test; parents and sister arrested
A seven-day-old girl taken from the Francesc de Borja Hospital in Gandia, Valencia, was located by National Police on Thursday evening, hours after her father allegedly removed her to evade social services.
The abduction
The infant, only a few days old, was taken from the Francesc de Borja Hospital in Gandia on Thursday morning. The parents, a Spanish mother and an Algerian father, had been visiting the child, who was hospitalised after testing positive for cocaine at birth. At around 7:30 a.m., the mother alerted staff that the baby was missing. The father had also disappeared from the premises. Private security at the hospital first raised the alarm, and agents from the Family and Women's Care Unit (UFAM) of the Gandia police station took over the investigation. One report indicated the father may have carried the infant out in a sports bag.
Custody and motive
The Generalitat Valenciana, through the Territorial Directorate of Alicante (where the parents are from), had assumed guardianship of the newborn on Thursday due to abandonment. The baby's positive cocaine test triggered the intervention of social services. According to police sources cited by La Vanguardia, both parents were aware that social services were going to take custody of their daughter. The apparent motive for the abduction was an attempt to prevent the authorities from assuming care of the child.
The search and arrests
National Police detained the mother first, holding her at the hospital before formal arrest. The search for the father and the infant continued throughout Thursday. Late that evening, officers located and arrested the father, who had left the baby in the care of relatives in Gandia. The newborn was subsequently found and readmitted to the hospital. A third arrest was made: the mother's daughter, a woman of about 20 years of age, who is alleged to have assisted in hiding the newborn from social services.
Investigation status
As of Friday morning, the National Police confirmed that several lines of investigation remain open. The UFAM unit in Gandia led the entire operation, from the initial search to the recovery of the infant and the three arrests. The baby is now back under hospital care and the guardianship of the regional authorities.
The father, an Algerian national, was the person directly responsible for the abduction of the minor.
What happens next
The Territorial Directorate of Alicante had already filed a complaint over the incident. The three detainees face legal proceedings while the newborn remains under the protection of the Generalitat. Police have not disclosed further details about the relatives who briefly cared for the child before her recovery.
