Police find Yuba City mom who fled hospital after infant tested positive for drugs

Yuba City police have located the mother who fled a local hospital Wednesday night with her two young children, the department said.

Tina Baez, 38, was found around noon near Feather River Boulevard and North Beale Road east of Yuba City, police spokeswoman Shawna Pavey said, and her children were taken to Rideout Memorial Hospital in Marysville for evaluation and treatment.

After taking her 11-month-old son Zeke to Rideout for medical treatment Wednesday night, Baez overheard doctors talking about his test results, which concluded that he had drugs in his system, and took him and his 2-year-old sister Zoey out of the hospital, Pavey said.

Zeke was still connected to an IV when he was removed from the Marysville hospital, she said. His condition when he was removed was "that of concern," Pavey said, and the decision to remove him went against the hospital's medical advice.

Pavey said police spent the past day interviewing people with a connection to Baez in an attempt to locate her and her kids.

"They have run down every possible acquaintance and family member trying to find Tina and her children," she said.

Police don't yet have any further details about the condition of the children or the motive of the mother, who is being interviewed by detectives.

"At this point, both children are being evaluated. There's more specific follow-up that the doctors would want to do with Zeke," Pavey said. "We really don't have any hard facts, nor would I have any potential charges until (detectives are) done with their interviews."

The Bee's Claire Morgan contributed to this report.

This story was originally published July 6, 2018 at 12:52 PM with the headline "Police find Yuba City mom who fled hospital after infant tested positive for drugs."