Baby at center of international mystery

LA JOYA - A 6-month-old boy is at the center of an international mystery as agencies on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border search for his parents and his true identity.

The boy is believed to be the son of illegal immigrants, who left him with a friend after he fell ill. The parents reportedly traveled north for work and were later deported.

Much of the story surrounding the baby is difficult to ascertain, however.

A woman called La Joya Police on Monday saying she had a baby for whom she could no longer care. The woman, Sofia Rojas, 37, told officers she had first met the child's parents in February, according to a police report. Rojas gave the child's parents food and shelter as they journeyed north for work.

The couple returned with the baby to Rojas' home on March 1. The child was suffering from dehydration and diarrhea. Rojas cared for the baby and nursed him back to health. The parents left her a handwritten promise, dated March 3, in which they pledged to return in five days.

Rojas called the police 21 days later, after the parents never returned.

Police took the child from the home Monday along with the note and a collection of unofficial Mexican medical documents.

The documents identify the child as Mario Augusto Sanchez Ramirez, born Sept. 2, 2007, in Vera Cruz. The documents show his parents to be Andrea Maria Ramirez Valdez, 20, and Mario Augusto Sanchez Soto, 32, both of Vera Cruz.

Police checked with the U.S. Border Patrol, and agents said they had deported that couple March 5 after finding them at a ranch near Kingsville, police reports show.

Officers next contacted the Mexican Consulate in McAllen. Despite a lack of solid proof, the consulate has assumed the baby belongs to the couple, spokeswoman Miriam Medel said.

The consulate has dedicated two employees to working full-time to search for the pair, contacting authorities in Vera Cruz. They also have contacted agencies in the United States to try to find out if the couple returned after being deported and were then apprehended again.

But until they are found, there is no proof the baby belongs to them.

"It is an assumption," Medel said. "Unfortunately, we do not have a way to assure right now that he is a Mexican national, because there is not a birth certificate. Ultimately, no one really knows if that document belongs with that baby."

Child Protective Services has taken the boy and placed him with a foster home, Medel said.

CPS cannot confirm or deny having taken the child because federal law prevents the agency from doing so, said John Lennan, a CPS spokesman for the Rio Grande Valley. In all cases of child welfare, the agency acts regardless of immigration status, Lennan said.

"Our first priority is always going to be, ‘Is the child safe?'" he said. "‘Is the child in a safe situation?'"

La Joya Police Officer Joe Cantu was the one who responded when Rojas called police to turn over the child.

Whoever this baby belongs to, Cantu said there is no cause for worry.

"They were taking care of the child very well," he said. "This kid lacked nothing while he was in La Joya. The child is very healthy, very bouncy, energetic and well nourished."

Medel said this case is unusual.

Illegal immigrants coming to the United States often become separated from their children, she said. But 90 percent of the time they return quickly to retrieve them.
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Zack Quaintance covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4447.