Infant Sipping Cappuccino Rescued, Safely Returned To Parents

An infant sipping a cappuccino has been safely returned to her parents, the Orange County Register reports.

Of course, it’s worth mentioning here that 6-month-old Laylani Mosley didn’t learn the age-inappropriate habit on her own. She was believed to have been abducted by her own grandmother, 57-year-old Carolyn Ferguson, who has bipolar disorder and was reportedly off her medication at the time.

The pair pulled in to a gas station in Tonopah, a city west of Phoenix. At this point, a rather observant gas station clerk noted the child in “an oversized diaper being fed a cappuccino by Ferguson” and came to the conclusion that something was “not right.”

The clerk alerted authorities, who arrived at the scene and arrested Ferguson.

According to family members, Ferguson took the child from the family home at about 9 am Wednesday.

From the report:

“Police on Wednesday afternoon issued an Amber Alert to aid in their search for the woman and the child, indicating that Ferguson had been seen an hour after the child’s alleged abduction driving a PT Cruiser in Fontana.”

Hours later, they were located at the gas station after the clerk searched online for “Amber Alert baby.” That’s when the clerk learned of the abduction in Huntington Beach and alerted authorities.

“Maricopa County deputies took Ferguson into custody and brought the infant to an ER as a precaution,” the report noted.

Ferguson said a truck driver dropped her and the child off at the gas station after her own vehicle broke down.

The PT Cruiser was later located at a Native American school just west of the gas station. Authorities said Ferguson made an initial court appearance on the kidnapping charges Thursday morning.

While it’s unlikely that the infant sipping such a small amount of cappuccino would result in serious long-term injury, it’s never a good idea to give children caffeine when they’re so young.

Just how bad of an idea is it?

According to one study, “one dose of caffeine — just two cups of coffee — ingested during pregnancy may be enough to affect fetal heart development and reduce heart function over the entire lifespan of the child.”

We can debate the accuracy of that, but let’s just say we’re glad Ms. Mosley is back with her parents, safe and sound, and we hope she doesn’t have her next cup till she’s at least a teenager.

What do you think should be done with the grandmother?

[Image of child via OCRegister.com, linked above]