MERIDEN -- A mother and her newborn baby have been located safe according to police.
Details are few, but Meriden police said Ashley Correra-Graham, 23, and her infant daughter, Esperanza Lopez were safe. On Monday night, Meriden Police had issued a silver alert for the baby.
Early Tueday morning., Correra-Graham emailed FOX61, saying she and her nine-day-old daughter is safe. Correra-Graham claimed DCF is trying to violate her rights as a parent. She said that if she was a danger to her daughter, she would not have been allowed out of the hospital, adding that DCF does not like her or her fiance's nationality.
Through several Facebook messages with FOX61, Correra-Graham explained that she was trying to regain custody of her four older children. She claims the bruises DCF found on her children were the result of daycare, not anything done at home.
In a statement, DCF said in part: "The Department works hard to prevent placing children in foster car, but there are circumstances that require it to protect a child and keep him or her safe."
A DCF spokesperson told FOX61 that they will contact police if they cannot locate a child, or believe there is concern for that child's safety. Meriden Police said they issued the silver alert at the request of DCF.
"A silver alert is not something that's taken lightly, and certainly not something that someone just decides to do one day," said Sgt. Christopher Fry. "There is a vetting process. There's a filtration system, and if we've put it out there, we ask that the public trust our concern for the well-being of Esperanza."