Woman Arrested On Drug Charges After Infant Abandoned At Northport Walmart

NORTHPORT, AL — A Tuscaloosa woman has been charged after a four-month-old girl was found in a shopping cart at the Walmart Supercenter in Northport Thursday night.

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The Northport Police Department said in a release that a report was received of an infant abandoned at the McFarland Boulevard Walmart just after 8:30 p.m.

As Patch previously reported, the baby girl was in the care of Walmart employees inside the store near the jewelry department when officers first arrived. As a precaution, the child was transported to an area hospital to be looked over, before she was released into the custody of the Alabama Department of Human Resources.

NPD Assistant Chief Keith Carpenter informed local media that an investigation found Melissa A. Smith, 37, had been pushing the shopping cart that the baby was found in. He then pointed out that it is not believed that Smith is the infant's mother.

Smith was arrested Friday and charged with unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, misdemeanor possession of marijuana, and felony possession of a controlled substance.

Her bond was set at $17,500.

NPD's Criminal Investigation Division continues to investigate the abandonment as officers work to identify and locate the mother of the child.

Carpenter said additional criminal charges may be pending.

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