DETROIT – An 11-month-old Detroit girl has been found after police said she was forcibly taken Tuesday from her foster parent by her biological, noncustodial mother.
Officials said finding Savannah quickly was important because she has sickle-cell anemia and is in need of medication.
"The child is on medication and the mother does not have the medication, so we want to make sure we find this child to get that medication for her," Balinski said.
Savannah's mother, Marquita Dupree, has mental health issues, officials said.
Capt. Kenneth Balinski said the girl's foster mother and Dupree were in the foster mother's car on the way back from Savannah's doctor appointment around 3 p.m. Tuesday when Dupree asked for the car to be stopped near I-94 and Moross Road.
Dupree leaned down to kiss Savannah goodbye and took off with her, Balinski said.
"They had gone to the doctor -- the foster mom and the biological mom -- took her to the doctor, and that's when the foster mom stopped the car and the biological mom took the child out of the seat and went down Moross and the foster mom couldn't find her from there," Balinski said.
Balinski said the foster mother tried to turn the car around, but couldn't turn quick enough to catch up with Dupree.
Dupree had supervised visitation with the child, according to Balinski. He said Dupree and the foster mother had a good relationship before Tuesday's arranged visitation, which included both women taking Savannah to the doctor's office for a check-up appointment.
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