Incident: Child Left Unattended Following Mother’s Overdose
Location: 3550 Gateway St, Springfield Oregon
Case Number: 22-1733
Date/Time: March 7th 2022 / 7:00pm
More Information: On Duty Watch Commander 541-726-3714
Completed By: Sergeant Kirkpatrick
NARRATIVE OF INCIDENT: On Monday March 7th at around 7pm Officers of the Springfield Police Department responded to the Quality Inn to assist DHS with a welfare check of a 28 year old mother and 6 month old child. Upon entry into the motel room, a 6 month old boy was found strapped into a stroller car seat. He was virtually unresponsive. He was rushed to Riverbend Hospital by medics where he was quickly transferred to Doernbecher Hospital at OHSU in Portland for life saving treatment.
During the course of their investigation, Officers found the mother deceased from an apparent overdose. They recovered what is now considered a non-criminal user amount of heroin in the room. The investigation revealed the overdose had happened days prior, and the 6 month old boy had been in the stroller for 4 days. He was suffering from severe dehydration, malnourishment, and severe diaper rash. SPD is crediting the DHS employee who followed up after-hours that evening for saving the child’s life.
In an update late this afternoon, Doernbecher advised the child’s condition has improved dramatically, and they are in the process of working up discharge orders.
SPD is hoping this devastating event may bring some awareness to those suffering from addiction. CAHOOTS is an excellent resource for individuals, or friends/family to provide help. Anyone in Springfield can call 541-726-3714 for services. The non-emergency line is staffed 24 hours a day. Online resources can be found at