Police want to know where the parents were after an 8-month-old girl was found in her crib inside a burning home on the city's west side Thursday.
An Indianapolis firefighter rescued Mya Roberts from the home. She is listed in critical condition at Riley Hospital Thursday afternoon. Officials said she was suffering from smoke inhalation.
Fire officials said the blaze began in the basement of the duplex in the 1300 block of Medford Avenue just before midnight, 6News' Derrik Thomas reported.
Police said a neighbor called 911 after she was awakened by her smoke alarms. She went next door and heard a baby crying inside.
Another neighbor, Byron Morrison, tried to alert anyone inside by breaking a window, Thomas reported.
"When I busted the window, I was really alerting them to come outside, or get up," Morrison said. "But, you just heard the baby crying. That's all. The baby cried for a minute then stopped crying."
Indianapolis fire Pvt. Kevin Gill went inside the home to get the baby.
"I picked the baby up. I was hoping and praying. I was like, 'Lord, let it be a dog and not a baby,'" Gill said. "There was heavy smoke and when I moved her, I could tell that it was a baby. I grabbed her and immediately started yelling."
Roberts was the only person inside the burning home. The child's father, Dustin Roberts, told police that the child was with its mother, Elaine Legg, 22, when he left.
Police searched for Legg Thursday morning. She was taken to Wishard Hospital shortly after she was located.
"We just have some information that perhaps she had some mental problems," said Indianapolis police Sgt. Judy Phillips. "She had been acting somewhat strangely. Some of her behavior was somewhat bizarre."
Dustin Roberts was at the hospital with the child Thursday afternoon, Thomas reported.
"I have three daughters of my own and they're my world and it just makes me feel good that the baby still has a chance at life," Gill said. "I'm just hoping and praying for the best."
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