Riverside mother arrested after infant found crying in dumpster during rain
Police arrested 26-year-old Astrid Nohemi Lopez Ramos on suspicion of child endangerment after a newborn discovered crying beside a dumpster in Riverside more than a year ago.
On May 4 2025, a resident reported a baby crying inside a dumpster enclosure at an apartment complex in Riverside’s 3800 block of Jackson Street. Officers found the newborn, exposed to rain and still attached to its umbilical cord, and paramedics rushed the child to a local hospital. After a year-long investigation by the Riverside Police Department’s sexual-assault and child-abuse unit, 26-year-old Astrid Nohemi Lopez Ramos was identified as the mother and arrested on Sept. 17 on suspicion of child endangerment.
She was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center with bail set at $35,000. Detectives Jessica Iniguez and Jarid Zuetel have asked anyone with information to contact them. California law allows parents to surrender newborns within 72 hours at hospitals or fire stations without question.
Why it matters
Highlights risks of infant abandonment and the legal avenues for safe newborn surrender.
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