Baby girl abandoned in shopping cart at CVS store in Lomita

A pregnant woman left a seven-to-nine-month-old baby girl in a shopping cart at a CVS store in Lomita on Tuesday, then walked out and took a cab, leaving the baby behind, authorities said.

Around 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14, deputies responded to a CVS on Pacific Coast Highway and Eshelman Avenue after several employees reported an abandoned baby left behind in a shopping cart, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Peter Velasco said.

The baby girl was carried into the store by a pregnant woman, who asked a store employee to arrange for a taxi while she went to use the restroom. The woman returned from the restroom and left the store when the taxi arrived, leaving the child behind, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

The unidentified pregnant woman was described as a white female in her 30s, wearing a white dress and carrying luggage. She did not appear homeless or under the influence of any substances, Velasco said.

On Wednesday, May 15, family members spoke to detectives and identified the baby and her biological mother. Authorities did not clarify whether the woman who abandoned the child was her mother or if she remained under the care of the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Lomita Sheriff’s Station at 310-539-1661 or submit an anonymous tip by calling 1 (800) 222-TIPS (8477).