Two teenagers who just became parents smuggled their newborn out of the hospital for fear they will lose her to social workers. Jayden Lavender, 14, and his girlfriend Jenifer Morrison, 15, ran away from the police for 16 hours before authorities learned they camped out in the woods with their three-day-old daughter.
The teenagers fled the Nepean Hospital in New South Wales, Australia after a staff worker told them they might not be able to take baby Aria Jayde Tanya home. They smuggled the tiny newborn after midnight and camped at Willmot just west of Sydney, Daily Telegraph reported.
After the police located them, Lavender and Morrison said they weren't planning on breaking the law. They, however, feared that someone will intervene and take their child away when they planned on raising Aria together as a family. So, they thought to hide out was the best choice.
The teenagers had plans to marry before Aria arrived. Tracy Lavender, the teenage boy's mom, took them under her care when Morrison got pregnant. The mother admitted she would have signed off on their marriage even as they were minors.
Neighbors said the teenagers resided in an unstable home environment at the Lavender residence with two other kids. Some attested police frequented the Lavender house in the past for domestic disturbance.
The teenage couple, however, said they will make great parents for Aria. "I don't know what I've done wrong and me and Jayden will be awesome for her," Morrison said, as per Yahoo Australia.
Morrison was, in fact, in tears when Aria had to be taken back to the hospital for tests and checks after spending a night in the woods. The young parents claimed they have not been able to see nor visit their newborn.
Jayden's mom, on the other hand, told authorities the baby was the best thing that happened to her son. She saw how committed Jayden was to take care of his daughter and girlfriend. "They made the mistake of being young," she said.
