DETECTIVES MAKE AN ARREST ON ABANDONED BABY CASE

Published: 09/25/2026

DETECTIVES MAKE AN ARREST ON ABANDONED BABY CASE

RIVERSIDE CA- On Sunday, May 4, 2025, at approximately 2:30 p.m., the City of Riverside's Public Safety Communications Center received reports of a baby crying inside a dumpster enclosure at an apartment complex in the 3800 block of Jackson Street. Responding officers discovered a newborn infant who had been found moments earlier by a resident. The baby was lying next to a dumpster, breathing and crying, with the umbilical cord still attached. The infant had been left uncovered and exposed to the rain.

Paramedics immediately provided medical care and transported the newborn to a nearby hospital. Investigators believe the baby had been delivered only a few hours before being found.

Over the following year, Sexual Assault/Child Abuse (SACA) detectives conducted an extensive investigation and ultimately identified the child's mother as 26 year old Astrid Nohemi Lopez Ramos of Riverside. On Thursday, September 17, 2026, Ramos was arrested for child endangerment and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center. Her bail was set at thirty five thousand dollars.

If there is anyone who may have information relevant to this investigation, please contact Detective Jessica Iniguez at (951) [email protected] or Detective Jarid Zuetel at (951) 826-8714- [email protected]

The Riverside Police Department would like to remind the community that California's Safely Surrendered Baby Law was created to prevent newborn deaths resulting from unsafe abandonment. Made permanent in 2006, this law allows a parent or legal guardian to safely surrender a baby within 72 hours of birth-no questions asked-to ensure the infant's safety and wellbeing. In Riverside County, newborns may be safely surrendered at nearly all fire stations and hospitals. To find the nearest Safe Surrender site, call 1-877-BABYSAF (1-877-222-9723) or visit www.211la.org/safely-surrender-baby.