Nyesha Doe, 2 - Family Sought - Alameda County California
Article Last Updated: 08/15/2006 08:01:34 PM PDT County seeks tot's family Girl abandoned in East Oakland Park with a stranger By Michele R. Marcucci, STAFF WRITER
Alameda County officials are mounting an extraordinary effort to find the family of a toddler who they say was abandoned in an Oakland park last month.
County child protective services officials say they just got court permission to release information about the girl and her photo, something Carol Collins, head of the Alameda County Department of Children and Family Services, said she doesn't believe she has done in the last several years.
She said such child abandonment cases are rare.
Collins said she hopes someone will recognize the girl, who county officials are calling Nyesha Doe, and come forward. They believe she is between 2 and 2<1/2> years old.
"We're just very concerned about this child and her family, and we're making sure that she is with family. We want to find her family," she said.
Collins said the girl's mother apparently left her with a stranger in Coliseum Gardens Park on July 8, saying she needed to run an errand. The woman never returned to the East Oakland park, Collins said, and the stranger took the girl home.
The stranger, whom the county is not naming, told county workers she took care of the girl for three days before calling child protective services. Collins said she does not know why the woman waited so long to call. The girl is currently in a foster care placement, she said.
County officials believe the girl's mother lives in the Los Angeles area, and Collins says she mentioned a sister in Las Vegas to the woman who took the girl in.
She said her department is working with Oakland police, but Collins is not sure whether police will press criminal charges against the mother. She said it will be up to the juvenile court to decide whether to reunite the child and her mother.
Oakland Police could not immediately be reached for comment.
Collins admitted the county knows little about Nyesha Doe or the circumstances surrounding her abandonment. All they have is the apparent stranger's statement, and a parentless little girl.
"That's part of why we're doing this. To try to get to bottom of this," Collins said. "We're hoping that someone recognizes her and fill in those blanks for us."
County officials are asking anyone with information to call them at (510) 780-8600.
Staff writer Harry Harris contributed to this report. Contact Michele R. Marcucci at mmarcucci@angnewspapers.com.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_4186048
Article Last Updated: 08/15/2006 08:01:34 PM PDT County seeks tot's family Girl abandoned in East Oakland Park with a stranger By Michele R. Marcucci, STAFF WRITER
Alameda County officials are mounting an extraordinary effort to find the family of a toddler who they say was abandoned in an Oakland park last month.
County child protective services officials say they just got court permission to release information about the girl and her photo, something Carol Collins, head of the Alameda County Department of Children and Family Services, said she doesn't believe she has done in the last several years.
She said such child abandonment cases are rare.
Collins said she hopes someone will recognize the girl, who county officials are calling Nyesha Doe, and come forward. They believe she is between 2 and 2<1/2> years old.
"We're just very concerned about this child and her family, and we're making sure that she is with family. We want to find her family," she said.
Collins said the girl's mother apparently left her with a stranger in Coliseum Gardens Park on July 8, saying she needed to run an errand. The woman never returned to the East Oakland park, Collins said, and the stranger took the girl home.
The stranger, whom the county is not naming, told county workers she took care of the girl for three days before calling child protective services. Collins said she does not know why the woman waited so long to call. The girl is currently in a foster care placement, she said.
County officials believe the girl's mother lives in the Los Angeles area, and Collins says she mentioned a sister in Las Vegas to the woman who took the girl in.
She said her department is working with Oakland police, but Collins is not sure whether police will press criminal charges against the mother. She said it will be up to the juvenile court to decide whether to reunite the child and her mother.
Oakland Police could not immediately be reached for comment.
Collins admitted the county knows little about Nyesha Doe or the circumstances surrounding her abandonment. All they have is the apparent stranger's statement, and a parentless little girl.
"That's part of why we're doing this. To try to get to bottom of this," Collins said. "We're hoping that someone recognizes her and fill in those blanks for us."
County officials are asking anyone with information to call them at (510) 780-8600.
Staff writer Harry Harris contributed to this report. Contact Michele R. Marcucci at mmarcucci@angnewspapers.com.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_4186048