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PROVO -- A baby girl who was the subject of an Amber Alert overnight is safe. Her mother has now been booked into jail on charges of abuse and neglect of a disabled child.
Eleven-month-old Neaveah Ledezma, who suffers from asthma and needs medication to stay alive, was found with her mother, Natalieh Gallo -- who does not have legal custody -- and Gallo's boyfriend.
Provo police say they received tips from the Amber Alert.
"The Amber Alert is great for finding lost children. However, with this particular case, it was just good old-fashioned officer going out and making constant contact with anyone that may know the mother and that is what happened," said Provo police Capt. Cliff Argyle.
The officer kept following up with Natalieh's known friends until one of them said she had learned where Natalieh might be staying.
Natalieh and her boyfriend were taken into custody peacefully around 6:30 a.m. Police questioned them, then arrested Natalieh Thursday afternoon.
"There's no question the child was supposed to have regular medications, and that the mother did not take that medication with her," Argyle said.
Police say Natalieh told them the baby's grandmother, Antonia Gallo, gave her permission to take the child. But the grandmother, who has legal custody of the baby, says that's not true.
Antonia says she gave her daughter strict instructions not to take the child from the house and not to use any of her vehicles. She was overjoyed when she received the phone call telling her Neaveah was found safe. [CLICK HERE to listen to the phone call]
"I don't have words to describe it, but until you go through it -- you see so many cases on TV, but you will never understand in your heart to have someone disappear, not knowing where they are," she said.
Neaveah was born at 24 weeks and, as a result, suffers from chronic asthma and requires medication four to six times a day. She also requires a special medical helmet to protect her skull. Without those two things, Neaveah's grandmother feared that she could possibly die.
"If she starts coughing it will not stop. She needs the medicine," she said.
Antonia said Natalieh was recently released from jail and had been staying at her house for the past two weeks helping care for Neaveah and her two other children.
Things were going well, so Antonia decided go to Logan for a few days. She said Natalieh convinced her that she could care for Neaveah on her own.
When the Antonia returned Thursday morning, Natalieh and the baby were missing, and the baby's medical supplies were at the house.
As for the boyfriend, police say he claims he didn't know the child wasn't supposed to leave the house and was unaware the Amber Alert had been issued.
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Story compiled with information from Randall Jeppesen, Shara Park and Sam Penrod.
