Rankin Inlet (Apr 17/06) - A Whale Cove woman has been charged after a baby was left in the middle of a road in Rankin Inlet.

Sgt. Gavin Nash said RCMP were called to a domestic disturbance at 5:45 a.m. April 11. When the constable arrived at the home, he discovered a woman had left with her 13-month-old infant following a disagreement with her former boyfriend.

"There was some indication she wanted to walk back to Whale Cove, so we took the longest road towards Whale, which is the road to the dump," said Nash.

"We had just passed the CBC building when I thought I spotted her down on the middle of the road.

"Once we got up to the bundle, however, we saw it was her suitcase and amauti with the baby still in the hood."

The baby was unharmed and police located the mother shortly afterwards among the burned out vehicles at the fire-training station near the municipal dump about half a kilometre away.

"The baby was left right in the middle of the right lane, so this story could have had a very sad ending.

"If this had happened a couple of hours later, during the short storm we experienced, a motorist could have easily run over the baby without ever seeing it."

The mother has been charged under Section 218 of the Criminal Code for child abandonment.

Her first court appearance is scheduled for June 26 in Rankin.

The baby was turned over to Social Services and is now in foster care. The name of the mother is being withheld to protect the child's identity.