Nebraska: Michigan boy abandoned

OMAHA, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- A 13-year-old Michigan boy was abandoned Monday in Omaha under Nebraska's safe-haven law, said state health and human service officials.

The boy's mother left him at Creighton University Medical Center, said Todd Landry, director of the Division of Children and Family Services.

"We have made a formal report of the abandonment to the Michigan Department of Human Services," Landry said, noting a 14-year-old girl from Iowa who was left last week in Omaha has been returned to her family.

Nebraska officials were in touch with the Michigan boy's family late Monday and were working to resolve the situation, the Omaha (Neb.) World Herald reported.

A total of 19 children, ages 1 to 17, have been left at Nebraska hospitals and police stations this month under a state law that allows parents and guardians to abandon children as old as 18 without fear of prosecution, Landry said, adding the law intended to safeguard infants is being abused.