Police: Stress made mother to abandon son

DETROIT, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- A Detroit mother drove to Nebraska in order to abandon her teenage son under the state's safe haven law because she was stressed, police allege.

Police in Omaha said the unidentified mother was allegedly so stressed out regarding her 13-year-old son, she left the teenager at an Omaha hospital this week with $10 and his luggage, The Detroit News said Wednesday.

"Just do what you have to do and I'll check with you soon," the 38-year-old mother was quoted in a police report as telling her child on Monday.

While the mother attempted to retrieve the child after learning of the police's involvement in the case, the teen was ordered into state custody by a Douglas County juvenile judge.

A court hearing on the custody matter was scheduled for Oct. 26.

Meanwhile, the president of a Michigan child advocacy group has begun using the incident to highlight alleged flaws in his state's mental health system, the Detroit Free Press reported.

"Parents find it hard to access mental health. There needs to be a more coordinated system between mental health and the juvenile courts," Michigan's Children President Jack Kresnak told the Free Press.