Mother of toddler left at California fire station found, investigators believe

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Authorities in California said Tuesday afternoon that they believe they've located the mother of a young girl brought to a fire station by a person who said a stranger had left the child with him.

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Update 3:50 p.m. EDT July 2: Deputies said Tuesday afternoon that they were in contact with a woman believed to be the girl's mother. Officials were working to confirm their relationship, investigators said.

Deputies said the girl was brought Sunday to a fire station in Sacramento County by a man who said an unknown woman had left her with him.

Authorities said the circumstances surrounding the case remained under investigation. The Sacramento Police Department will handle the case.

Original report: Investigators in Sacramento, California, are trying to identify an abandoned toddler who was taken to a fire station Sunday, authorities said.

>> See the child's photo here

According to KOVR-TV, a man brought the girl, whom deputies are calling Jane Doe, to Sacramento Fire Station 57 after an unidentified Hispanic woman approached him outside a nearby Walmart and claimed that someone was chasing her, authorities said. He drove the pair around briefly until the woman suddenly exited the vehicle, leaving the toddler behind, deputies said.

"He seemed concerned with having this child, did not know this child," fire Capt. Greg Murdock told KOVR.

Murdock said firefighters immediately "went into daddy mode" and cared for the child until she was placed in state custody.

Authorities are now trying to track down the girl's family, KOVR reported.

If you have any information about the case, please call the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office at 916-874-5115 or Crime Stoppers at 916-443-HELP.

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