Baby left alone in car for 10 hours found after huge police hunt as dad arrested

23 October 2023 , 11:18

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Bosses became so worried that they deployed helicopters were in the storm (Image: Dylan Vaughan)

A dad has been charged after he allegedly left his baby in a car alone for 10 hours after forgetting where his vehicle was.

The little girl, who is only 10 months old, was abandoned in freezing temperatures on the weekend somewhere in North Dublin.

A major search operation was launched after the father walked into Clondalkin Garda station to beg for help to find her at around 2am on Saturday.

The report took place eight hours after he left his home in west Dublin with the infant. He admitted to officers that he didn't know where she was.

The dad reported his daughter missing at Clondalkin Garda station

The force deployed cars from all over the capital to join the urgent hunt and ordered a helicopter to take on fierce winds in a bid to find her. A source told Dublin Live : “He took her with him to Coolock, he said at about 6pm. The next thing is he goes to Clondalkin at 2am and says he doesn’t know where his car, or his daughter, is.”

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

Sources say Garda experts managed to ping – or locate – the man’s mobile phone to an industrial estate near Mulhuddart in West Dublin, reports Irish Mirror. But the information was not precise and pointed to it being anywhere within 5km of the ping so dozens of cars, and the force helicopter, converged on the area and searched every metre of it. “The operation to find the baby was huge, there were cars from all over the place looking for her in the middle of the night," a source said.

Officers combed the area and managed to locate the car at 4am some 2km away – with the little girl safe and well inside. It is understood the baby was taken to Temple Street Children’s Hospital where she later received a clean bill of health.

A man has now been charged over the incident and is expected to appear at Dublin District Court today. A Garda spokeswoman said: “Gardai in Clondalkin investigating an alleged offence under the Children’s Act 2001 have charged a male to appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice on Monday 23rd October 2023. As a person has been charged to appear before Court and the investigation involves a child An Garda Siochana is not in a position to provide any further comment.”

Monica Charsley