Parents charged: 8-WEEK-old infant abandoned in parking lot; rescued by stranger



KATY, Texas -- Parents accused of leaving their eight-week-old baby boy in a car seat on the ground in a parking lot appeared in court Thursday morning. The infant was rescued by a stranger.

"He said 'I found this baby, and I don't know where the parents are.' I was crying because I couldn't believe it was happening," Dee Griffin-Stevens said.

Griffin-Stevens held the baby boy tight, and kept him warm until first responders arrived.

"I'm holding him and I'm thinking 'where's your mom?'" Griffin-Stevens said.

Authorities estimate the eight-week-old had been alone for 45 minutes in the parking lot when the man found him.

"He found the baby sitting right in the middle of the parking spot," Griffin-Stevens said.

Griffin-Stevens' friend recorded video as they waited.

"No bottle, nothing. No diapers, nothing," Griffin-Stevens said.

All told, the baby was without his parents for an hour-and-a-half, until the mother showed up at the scene. She cried as she as arrested.

During the parents' first court appearance, a prosecutor relayed her side of the story.

"Mrs. Shibley advised she walked out of work with the child in her hand and placed him on the ground. She says she thought Mr. Collins grabbed the child and put him into the vehicle. Apparently nobody did," the prosecutor said.

Sarah Shibley, 33, and Gary Collins, 39, are charged with endangering a child. Shibley is out on bond, but Collins remained behind bars Thursday.

Their baby boy is in CPS custody, as workers look for relatives to care for him.

Meanwhile, Griffin-Stevens said she'll never forget the ordeal.

"I told him I loved him and I'm praying for him and I hope that he ends up where he's supposed to be," Griffin-Stevens said.