LYNNWOOD — It was not your everyday welfare check.
Police in Lynnwood received a call around 10:20 a.m. Friday asking that officers try to locate a woman who might have delivered a baby in a hotel room somewhere in the city
All they had to go on was the woman’s name, date of birth and a general description of a van.
Officer Mark Brinkman, a veteran of 30 years in law enforcement, went with his first instinct.
He headed toward a low-rent hotel where he found a van that fit the general description. It wasn’t registered to the woman. However, Sgt. Jerry Reiner was able to find a report that linked the woman to the vehicle from a previous incident.
Brinkman showed a clerk at the hotel a photo of the woman, who is in her late 20s. The clerk had not seen her or any pregnant women come or go.
The officer waited a few minutes and saw a man approach the van.
Brinkman asked him if he knew about a birth in a hotel room.
The man led Brinkman into the room where the woman was with the newborn. The boy was born around 7 a.m.
Brinkman had found them within 45 minutes of getting the call.
The couple was “pretty much homeless,” Brinkman said.
They were getting ready to pack up and move on.
The baby seemed lethargic. Brinkman called for medical help.
As it turned out, the baby’s oxygen levels, pulse, body temperature and blood sugars were low. He was taken to Children’s Hospital in Seattle.
Brinkman asked the couple why they didn’t go to a hospital.
They gave different explanations, saying that the baby came faster than expected and that they figured they could handle it on their own after watching YouTube videos.
The case was reported to state Child Protective Services.
“Our officer, in my opinion, did a really nice job,” Lynnwood police Cmdr. Jim Nelson said. “He really took it upon himself” to find the baby.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
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