Scores on social media are offering to adopt the newborn boy who was found in bushes off Marshall Road, calling him a “miracle baby.”
The baby found abandoned is now safe and in government custody, as so many react with shock, compassion, and offers to adopt him.
With an umbilical cord still attached and wrapped around the neck, he was discovered by passerby Acharra Gaitor, who was walking in the area when he heard cries. After searching nearby bushes, he found the baby lying face down and crying.
“I heard a cry and the rain came down,” Gaitor said. “When I looked, he was humped over.”
Police say the baby is alive and was taken to the hospital for care.
He is now in the custody of the Department of Social Services while authorities search for his mother.
Chief Superintendent Darron Nixon, officer in charge of the Carmichael Police Station, said investigators believe the mother may be in distress and urged her to come forward.
“Mothers should not have to endure this kind of trauma,” he said.
“She needs to know that there is help for this, and we’re not blaming her. The child is alive, and there’s help for this situation.”
The case highlights how fear, shame, or desperation can push women into situations where they can feel helpless.
Police reported the death of a 25-year-old woman on Thursday where she was found after 8 pm in a room, at the Landshark Hotel on West Bay Street.
Police are still investigating her death, though the initial investigation indicated a possible suicide. She was found hanging with a rope around her neck.
Carissa Culmer in happier times.
Who was she?
Though police are still waiting to notify the next of kin before publicly revealing her name, she has been unofficially identified as Carissa Culmer.
Carissa was adopted as a baby from the Ranfurly Home and was reared by Christian adopted parents, the father being a pastor and fisherman, and her mother, an ordained missionary.
The Culmer family has one son and she joined the family as the only girl.
As a baby, she was adopted from the Ranfurly Home.
As she advanced in age, Carissa faced tension with her adopted mother and was eventually taken from the home by Social Services, while maintaining a close relationship with her adopted father.
Carissa is believed to have three biological siblings, with whom she had no relationship.
Carissa Culmer graduated from Nurse’s Edge Training Institute last year.
In a social media post, she lamented, “Lord you heard my cry night after night just feeling so alone in this cold world. Even as a child, I would cry my eyes out to know that I have a mother that I never met and three siblings I never met.
“I felt so lost growing up because I didn’t know anything about my background. It really made it hard to stay focused,” she said.
Despite the hardship, Carissa graduated last year from Nurse’s Edge Training Institute as a patient care technician.
What was Carissa’s history with abuse?
When Carissa was released from the hostel, she was left to fend for herself and wound up in abusive relationships.
“After leaving the institution, things didn’t get any better believe it or not. I stayed with over fourteen or more people. I even found myself homeless from time to time I would stay in the club until 5 am because I had nowhere else to go,” she said.
Carissa Culmer sat in the Senate as senators addressed domestic violence in the country.
Last year November, she pleaded for assistance in a social media post, claiming her boyfriend and father of her baby boy, often abused her and she was in fear for her life.
“I so tired. I so tired. I done lose my mind twice. Yes. Yes, I strong. I’m strong yes, but I tired. I tired. I ain’ saying I’m perfect. I’m not perfect,” she wept.
She was featured as a guest on Beyond the Headlines to tell her story of domestic abuse which led to Social Services offering help.
Carissa was invited to the Senate and sat in the gallery as senators addressed domestic violence in the country. Senate President Lashell Adderley said, “The continuous courage and fortitude demonstrated by vulnerable women like Carissa Culmer, who stand and say a resounding no to traumatic stress and pain of domestic violence, must be stopped by the enforcement of legislation, policies and procedures to eradicate gender-based violence.”
Cause of death
Authorities are still investigating the cause of death. They do not know as yet, whether or not foul play is suspected.
Audley Peters said it appeared she could have been dead for around two hours before she was discovered.
The toddler was discovered in the room where her body was found.
The boyfriend and father of the boy arrived later and was seen holding the son as he spoke with the police.
Where to get help if you face domestic abuse or contemplating suicide
Bahamas Crisis Center: (242) 328-0922
Royal Bahamas Police Force: 911, 919, (242) 322-4444
Social Service workers in Grand Bahama staged a protest at noon on Wednesday, calling for the government to address a myriad of issues they face in the workplace.
In an effort to get the attention of the government, they marched in the parking lot, holding placards and singing, “Solidarity forever.”
Vice President of the Public Service Union Latoya Cartwright said despite its many issues, the government refuses to negotiate with the union
“Industrial agreements remain outstanding. They are lacking assistance. Some of them have been working without water, no hazardous pay, no risk insurance. Matters are outstanding and the government is refusing to come to the table.”
Cartwright added that the president of the union has tried calling and emailing those responsible in government, but to no avail.
When asked if it was a wise move by the union to demand monies during a time when the country is facing economic difficulties and deficits are low, Cartwright asked, “If not now, then when?
“These persons have been working during the pandemic, serving the community. The time is now.
“I want this government to know they are not employed by themselves. The people employed them. We employed them to do a service and we expect them to do it.” she said.
The Department of Social Services is still trying to locate the mother of a baby boy found in an abandoned house at the back of the Church of the Nazarene on East Street.
What happened
Shortly after 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, a baby boy who appeared to be approximately four days old, was found wrapped in a blanket at the rear of the church.
Construction workers found the baby boy and an anonymous caller alerted police.
What neighbors say
67-year-old Edward Fox who lived in the neighbourhood for more than 40 years, told the Nassau Guardian, “Why she want a boyfriend if she can’t take care of children?
“That don’t make any sense. And you don’t know what that child could grow up to be.”
Fox said he has never seen something like this happened in the neighbourhood.
A 52-year-old Linda Darville said, “I don’t know who would do that. I ain’t see nobody. That’s the first time they have ever dropped a baby in the area. I’ve never seen that.”
And 53-year-old Leonard Neely said, “The mothers really need to take more responsibility for their kids. This is a nice, beautiful area, nice community we living through. We don’t have them things happen through here. So, it really shocked the whole community.”
What happens to the child now that he was found
The child becomes a ward of the state and is in the Children’s Ward at the Princess Margaret Hospital.
The Ministry of Social Services has the legal right to make decisions for the child.
The child can enter a children’s home at 6 weeks, where he will most likely end up.
Adoption will not occur until a relative of the child comes forward.
Social services and police are appealing to the mother to come forward so that she receives the requisite medical care.
Free assistance is given to pregnant women through the Department of Social Services Hotlines: 322-2763 or 422-2763.
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Vice President of the Public Service Union Latoya Cartwright said despite its many issues, the government refuses to negotiate with the union