A woman believed to have given birth to a baby boy before abandoning him in a Wal-Mart bathroom was in the store for less than 15 minutes, according to images from a surveillance tape released by police on Thursday.
The tape shows the woman entering the store in Prince Albert, Sask. at 5:05 p.m. CST on Monday -- and leaving 14 minutes later at 5:19 p.m. CST, police said.
The baby was found barely moving in the Wal-Mart bathroom a short time later by the store manager and a co-worker, who alerted emergency workers. The baby remains in hospital in serious but stable condition.
Police released the video in hopes of tracking down the unidentified woman.
She is described as wearing a three-quarter length dark jacket with light-coloured pants. Further investigation revealed that there may be a light colored emblem on the back of the neck.
Police say they have investigated a few tips, but they not been helpful so far in identifying the woman. Police had this message for the mother: "We want to help you. We want to make sure you're OK and we just want to talk to you about what had happened at this time," said Sgt. Rhonda Meakin of the Prince Albert Police Service. "So please, come and talk to us. We're able to offer you support and any other help you may need at this time."
This is the second abandoned baby case in Saskatchewan this year. A newborn baby was found outside a Saskatoon home on a very cold winter night. No charges were laid against the mother in that case.
Saskatchewan Justice Minister Frank Quennell said Thursday that the province has a policy not to prosecute women who leave their babies at hospitals, clinics, police detachments or with child welfare workers -- similar to so-called safe haven laws in several U.S. states that shield mothers who abandon their babies in a safe place from prosecution.
Quennell said a Saskatchewan law would only be symbolic, however, because criminal law is within federal jurisdiction.
"Is that going to stop every teenage mother from wanting to have the baby in the most private place possible and leaving it in a place where nobody can see her, or she thinks nobody can see her? No," Quennell said.
"But, we need to get out the message that, in effect, we have safe havens."
Wal-Mart store manager Chad Fraser cleared the baby's airways and massaged the boy's chest until emergency workers arrived. He credits his St. John's Ambulance first aid training in helping him to attend to the child until the paramedics arrived.
"They called me ten minutes later, saying they had a strong heartbeat and a really good feeling at that point," Fraser said.
Fraser called finding the baby in the washroom a "shocking experience."
With reports from the Canadian Press and CTV Saskatoon
