Nearly two weeks after family members reported a newborn and her mother missing, they were located at a Warren laundromat and the mother was arrested.
Responding to a tip Warren police found the mother, Amanda Rose Prowell-Smith, 32, and her baby, Eliza, at the laundromat on Feb. 17.
The two were reported missing from Auburn Hills on Feb. 5, and family members told police Prowell-Smith couldn’t properly care for her baby — six weeks old at the time — because she had a long history of mental illness. Police then issued a missing endangered advisory.
“This was an outstanding example of teamwork between the public and the police,” Auburn Hills Deputy Police Chief Scott McGraw stated in a news release issued Feb. 19. “I am incredibly proud of all the officers and detectives who worked on this case and their relentless search for Amanda and Eliza. I could not have asked for a better outcome to this search. Thank you to everyone who assisted.”
Three days before she was reported missing, Prowell-Smith allegedly assaulted a family member and left home on South Boulevard in Auburn Hills with the baby, and the family hadn’t seen them since.
Prowell-Smith was taken into custody on outstanding warrants and the baby was turned over to Children’s Protective Services Protective Services. She was evaluated at a hospital and had no injuries, police said.
Earlier, police learned from Children’s Protective Services that Prowell-Smith has two other children that had been removed from care due to their mother’s mental state. It had been determined that Prowell-Smith is incapable of caring for herself or her child, police said.