The daughter of a baseball star left her newborn baby in a forest during one of the worst winter storms parts of America has ever experienced.
Alexandra Eckersley, who was living homeless, gave birth to a baby boy in the New Hampshire woods before abandoning him on Christmas Day, during sub-zero temperatures
Eckersley, the adopted child of American baseball pitcher and recent Hall of Fame inductee Dennis Eckersley, went on to tell authorities she had to "save herself first" when questioned on dumping the baby.
The 26-year-old was charged with felony reckless conduct, second-degree assault/extreme indifference, endangering the welfare of a child, and falsifying physical evidence, authorities have confirmed.
Officers from Manchester Police Department are understood to have received a call at around 12:40 from a woman, later identified as Eckersley, who had just given birth in the woods while it was below 20 degrees Fahrenheit - lower than -6C.
Eckersley reportedly told the police where to search for the child, but when they arrived they struggled to find the baby.
In a statement, police said: "After nearly an hour, the mother revealed the true location of the baby and led officers to the area.
"There, officers located the baby who was treated by EMTs (emergency medical technicians) and transported to a local hospital for treatment."
The baby was ultimately found in a tent just off a footpath and was "moving, not crying, and exposed," according to first responders.
When police officers asked her why she abandoned her newborn baby in the tent, she allegedly said: "What do they tell you when a plane goes down? Save yourself first."
Authorities also reportedly claimed Eckersley suffers from mental illness and seemed to be under the influence of drugs when they questioned her.
Asked why she misdirected authorities to her baby, she allegedly claimed she was scared to lose her tent.
But Chief Aldenberg said there are services in place to help people like Eckersley, making the alleged crime all the more upsetting.
"If you choose to live in the woods, this city, this police department, many city departments, do outreach at these camps daily, seven days a week," he told CBS.
"So if you choose to in the woods and you refuse our outreach, you refuse services, so be it, that’s your decision as an individual.
"But you don’t get to do this to a child. I don’t care what excuses I’m undoubtedly going to hear. I’m going to hear mental health, I’m going to hear substance abuse, I’m going to hear alcohol abuse, whatever it may be and I’m always sensitive to that.
"But when it comes to this, I lose my sensitivity, my compassion for those excuses."
