The 19-day-old boy appeared unharmed after witnesses found him in a car seat and called police, according to reports and court records.
INDIANAPOLIS — Police arrested a 24-year-old mother after her 19-day-old son was found unattended in a car seat behind a southeast Indianapolis shopping center, where court records say she left a note stating she could no longer care for him and wanted him placed with another family.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers responded about 7 p.m. Aug. 24 to the 5400 block of East Thompson Road after witnesses reported finding the infant behind a shopping center. Police initially said the boy appeared uninjured, but emergency responders took him to a hospital for an evaluation. Detectives arrested the mother, identified by police as Faith Argo, two days later on a preliminary allegation of neglect of a dependent. Formal charging decisions were left to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
Court records cited by Indianapolis news organizations say surveillance video showed a woman carrying a car seat toward the rear of the shopping center and later returning without it. A man who had seen her with the child became concerned and went behind the building with his wife. They found the baby and called 911. Court documents indicated the boy had been unattended for about 15 to 20 minutes before he was found.
Investigators said a handwritten note was left with the baby. It read, “I am unable to keep him, needs a good family.” Court records said the note had been written on scrap paper, with part of a telephone number and a Greenfield address on the other side. The address was connected to a place where the mother had recently been staying, according to the records.
The mother told investigators she gave birth Aug. 5 and had struggled with housing and caring for her newborn, according to court records. She said she had spent time at a women’s shelter and was later staying with someone in Greenfield. Investigators wrote that she had considered adoption and had researched options for legally surrendering the baby before deciding to leave him behind the shopping center.
Records say the mother told detectives she believed she could no longer care for the child and knew leaving him behind the shopping center was wrong. She also said transportation had been an obstacle to reaching a Safe Haven Baby Box. Court documents indicate she used a rideshare on Aug. 24 to travel with the infant from the Greenfield area to the East Thompson Road area before the baby was left behind the building.
Detectives used surveillance footage and other evidence gathered near the shopping center to identify the woman, according to reports based on the court documents. She was taken into custody Aug. 26. The preliminary allegation remains an accusation, and Argo has not been convicted of a crime in connection with the case.
There was some uncertainty in early reports about the exact allegation and the infant’s medical condition. WRTV reported that police described the preliminary allegation as neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, while authorities had initially said the baby appeared uninjured. Police later declined to provide the station with additional information about whether the child had been injured. The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office had not announced a final charging decision in the latest reports reviewed.
The case also drew attention to Indiana’s Safe Haven Law. Current Indiana Department of Child Services policy says a parent may surrender a newborn to an emergency medical services provider or place the child in an approved newborn safety device. A parent who acts within 60 days of the child’s birth is protected from an abandonment or neglect substantiation tied to the surrender if the child is unharmed. The policy also allows a parent facing extenuating circumstances to call 911 and remain with the infant until an emergency medical services provider arrives.
The Indiana Department of Child Services assumes care and custody after a qualifying Safe Haven surrender. In this case, authorities said the infant was placed in DCS custody after his hospital evaluation. The child’s name has not been publicly released, and the prosecutor’s office remained responsible for determining what, if any, formal criminal charges would be filed against his mother.
Author note: Last updated August 31, 2026.