A one-month-old boy wearing only a diaper was found alone on a Colorado road on Christmas Day and his parents are now behind bars.

A passerby saw the baby alone in his car seat around 9:20 a.m. Wednesday and stopped to help, the Adams County Sheriff’s Office said in a post on Facebook. Denver recorded a high of 50 degrees and a low of 34 degrees on Wednesday, according to AccuWeather.

Sergeant. Adam Sherman of the Adams County Sheriff’s Office told USA TODAY Thursday that it was unclear how long the baby was there, but said based on what investigators learned, “It was a relatively short period of time, just a few minutes.” .”

“But that’s a few minutes too long for a child to be left alone in that situation,” Sherman said.

After the baby was found, he was taken to a local children’s hospital as a precautionary measure while investigators searched the area, looking at camera footage and trying to determine who left the baby there.

Authorities also shared images of the car seat on social media and called on the public to help them identify the infant and his family “so that he can be reunited with his loved ones and the person who abandoned him brought to justice.” can be.”

Baby’s parents arrested

The infant’s biological parents were later identified, arrested and charged with child abuse that same day, police said in a later update. They were identified as Jarvis Sims, 42, and Christina Thurman, 33.

The two had a court hearing Thursday morning and were still at the sheriff’s office Thursday afternoon, Sherman said. No attorney was listed for her in online court records Thursday.

“From what our investigators have learned, there was an argument between both parents yesterday morning,” Sherman said. “And when they left during the argument, unfortunately the baby was left on the street as each parent went in a different direction.”

Infant in “good health”

The baby is doing well, Sherman said, adding that he was “cleared for placement with Child Protective Services last night.”

“Thank you to our community for quickly taking action, spreading the word and helping to share information about this incident,” the sheriff’s office said.

Saman Shafiq is a featured news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Baby found alone on Denver street on Christmas Day; Parents arrested