UPDATE | Mother arrested after Good Samaritans rescue newborn left abandoned under a tree
In a shocking case of child abandonment, a newborn infant was found beneath a tree in Theunissen.
Image: SAPS
A 25-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly abandoning her two-day-old baby in Brandfort.
IOL previously reported that police in the Free State are investigating a case of child abandonment after an infant was rescued near a hiking spot on the R30 in Theunissen on Friday.
According to a media statement, a man and his cousin were hiking when another gentleman told them about a baby under a tree.
"The Good Samaritans immediately investigated the area and found a few days-old male infant. The baby was wearing a beige baby grow with a grey baby hat, and was wrapped in a grey-coloured baby fleece blanket with white dots," police said.
With rain on the way, the men took the baby home and contacted local police and an ambulance service.
Police said the woman has been charged with attempted murder. She will appear in the Theunissen Magistrate's Court soon.
IOL