Ansonia baby, 1, discovered protected in Alabama after mom fails to return from custody go to, police say

Peter Yankowski, Ben Lambert

April 27, 2022Updated: April 27, 2022 4:38 pm

ANSONIA — A 1-year-old infant was found safe in Alabama Wednesday after police said her mother didn’t return her after a custody visit, according to the Ansonia Police Department.

The child, Royalty Bass, is in custody of the Alabama Department of Health and Human Services. She will stay there until her father arrives to take custody, police said.

Royalty’s mother, , Shameka Henri, failed to return the infant to her father after her custody visit, police said at 11:20 pm Tuesday.

Police at first believed the mother and daughter could have been in the Stratford area, but said they could have left the state.

Staff writer Liz Hardaway contributed to this report.

Peter Yankowski is a breaking news reporter for Hearst Connecticut Media. He previously reported for the Danbury News-Times and, before that, the Ridgefield Press.

Ben Lambert covers police and public safety for the Register. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, he has worked on the behalf of the Valley Advocate, MassLive, The Register Citizen, and now, the New Haven Register. He spends far too much time thinking about the Boston Celtics.