MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Authorities are investigating after a woman carried a baby that was reportedly abducted in Charlotte onto Interstate 77 in Mooresville earlier this week, according to police.
On Monday around 1 p.m., Iredell County deputies were called to I-77 near exit 36 in Mooresville after receiving reports that a woman was walking in and out of traffic, carrying an infant.
When deputies arrived, they found the woman, identified as Winifred Mirambeau, standing on the side of the interstate holding the child. Deputies said they also found a black Jeep nearby.
The driver of the Jeep told deputies he was getting into his vehicle on Plaza Drive in Charlotte earlier that morning when Mirambeau jumped into the passenger seat of his vehicle and told him to drive off.
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He told deputies that as they were traveling north on I-77, he and Mirambeau switched seats because she wanted to drive. He then said that as they approached exit 36, Mirambeau pulled off on to the emergency lane and jumped out of the vehicle carrying the infant.
Paramedics were called to the scene and took the infant to Lake Norman Regional Medical Center because the baby had been exposed to the sun for a long time.
As deputies investigated the situation, they discovered that the child was reportedly abducted from the Charlotte area.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said it has charged Mirambeau with first-degree kidnapping and child abduction.
Police said they responded to Shamrock Drive for a report of a missing person around 1 p.m.
The victim told officers she left her infant with family members while she was running errands. Mirambeau, the girlfriend of one of the family members, reportedly took the baby and left the home.
They said they were notified about Mirambeau's whereabouts around 1 p.m. after her run-in with the Iredell County Sheriff's Office.
Police said the baby was not hurt and was reunited with her mother.
Mirambeau was transferred to the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.