ICYMI: Woman Who Left Child At Atlanta Airport Being Evaluated: Police

ATHENS, GA -- A local police officer grew suspicious after questioning a Maryland woman who purportedly left her child with strangers at the busiest airport in the world, according to news reports. When Miranda Hakimi Harvey was spotted by an officer at an Athens hotel and questioned, she was caught in a lie, police said.

People who know Harvey said that it is highly out of character that she would leave her child with strangers -- then walk away. But that is exactly what she is alleged to have done, according to authorities. (To get notified of more local news like this, click here to sign up for the Atlanta Patch. Or find your Atlanta-area town here. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

The officer asked her why she left her 4-year-old with a random couple at the airport on June 15 and Harvey corrected him, saying that she left the child with their nanny. “I knew by the way she hesitated and looked off to the left she was not telling me the truth,” said the policeman, identified in a police report as Officer D. Douglas, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Then Harvey, 30, said she left the child with her 26-year-old daughter. When questioned about the discrepancy, the woman said: “That’s the benefit of being a mayflower,” according to the report.

That's when medical professionals were called to the hotel. Harvey is currently being evaluated in a medical facility after the incident, police said.

Authorities said that Harvey, drove more than 700 miles from Odenton, Maryland to Atlanta's airport. She reportedly asked a random couple to look after her 4-year-old girl so that she could go shopping. The thing is, Harvey never returned. After several hours, the couple called the authorities.

"Missing mother, Ms. Harvey, located in Athens, Georgia. She is unharmed but being evaluated by a local health care provider," Atlanta police spokesman Warren Pickard tweeted Sunday. SIGN UP: To get notified of more local news like this, click here to sign up for the Athens Patch. Or find your Atlanta-area town here. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.

Harvey was found two days later at an Athens hotel after a guest recognized her from news reports and called 911. She is currently being evaluated by authorities, who added that she is OK "but somewhat confused about what occurred the last 24 hours," according to WXIA-TV.

Police are trying to make contact with family members in Maryland, the station reports.

Harvey’s cousin, Amanda Hakimi, told local media that what happened is totally not like Harvey. “She’s a wonderful mother,” Halimi said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “What happened was a surprise for everyone.”

The cousin said that Harvey is a 2010 University of Georgia graduate who was reared in Gwinnett County.

Athens-Clarke County police spokesman Epifanio Rodriguez said a guest at The Graduate Hotel notified authorities of Harvey's whereabouts. When authorities arrived at the hotel and talked to Harvey, they knew something was wrong. “At that point, they realized that she seemed to be disheveled, she seemed to be confused, gave her medical treatment as far as calling an ambulance,” Rodriguez told WSB-TV.

Her cousin said that Harvey recently lost her father and may be spiraling out of control because of her grief.

It remains to be seen if Atlanta police will bring criminal charges against Harvey.

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