11/17/09

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) _ Authorities say a Salt Lake City woman
told them she gave her 9-month-old daughter to a suspected drug
dealer because she was homeless, addicted to methamphetamine and
unable to care for the girl.

Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson says deputies found
the child Monday while searching a home as part of a drug
investigation.

He says a 38-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of
distributing methamphetamine told officers that she had been caring
for the child for a week. He also says the woman had a document
allegedly signed by the girl's 23-year-old mother transferring
guardianship of the child.

The child has been taken into state custody. No charges are
pending against the mother but Hutson says an investigation is
ongoing.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APNP-11-17-09 1516MST<