A woman who was living in a tent in a wooded area in New Hampshire gave birth in the cold and left her newborn to die.
The mother was identified as 26-year-old Alexandra Eckersley, the adopted daughter of Dennis Eckersley, a former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and Basketball Hall of Fame member.
She was arrested by police after they found her newborn freezing alone, naked, in a dark tent on Sunday night.
Police arraigned the mom, Eckersley, in a Hillsboro court on Tuesday and charged her with endangering a child, reckless conduct, second-degree assault, and lying to police.
The Manchester Fire Department received reports about an emergency in the woods at around 12:30 am on Monday. Officers responded and found Eckersley after she had given birth in the woods.
Emergency workers went on a wild goose chase trying to find the newborn for about an hour after receiving the wrong directions from Eckersley. According to Ryan Cashin, the Manchester Fire Chief, they could not locate the baby and time was running out.
The Manchester Fire Department’s Deputy Chief, David Flurey said that after the police had searched for an hour, Eckersley finally revealed to them the correct location of the newborn after she had misled them.
According to Fire Chief Cashin, when officers got to the scene, the child’s mother gave them several directions to where the baby might be. Eckersley told them that she couldn’t remember where she left the baby, and officers searched several places before Eckersley finally told them that she had left the baby in a tent she was living in.
Officers found the baby naked and uncovered on the tent floor at Electric Street near the Piscataquog River. The baby was struggling to breathe and rescuers made efforts to make the baby warm before transporting the child to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Officers noted that when they rescued the baby, temperatures were about 18 degrees and eventually plunged to 6 degrees.
According to an affidavit, Eckersley told paramedics that she did not know she was pregnant and realized it when she felt the need to use the bathroom. She said that she gave birth late Christmas night.
When asked why she abandoned her baby, Eckersley said that when a plane goes down, you save yourself first. Police also said in the document that she appeared to be on drugs.
The New Hampshire Fire Department announced that a baby up to a week old can be left at their fire station anonymously – giving new mothers an alternative when they are desperate.
