Delaware County Mother Arrested After Child Left At Grove Hospital

The Delaware County Sheriff's Office issued an Amber Alert Friday morning for an 8-month-old girl, but it was canceled after the girl was located.

The concern about the child was that she appears severely malnourished.

DHS got information about it Wednesday, but it took until Friday morning for authorities to take the child in. Deputies had searched since Wednesday for 8-month-old Carolinn Altaffer, and her parents, Ronnie Altaffer and China Prater.

DHS had information the child was severely malnourished, and got a court order to take her into custody for emergency care.

An Amber Alert was issued early Friday to get the public involved in the search.

"Around 2 a.m. or so, we ran out of leads as to where the child could be," said Sheriff Harlan Moore. "Information was the child, the parents were getting ready to go out of state with the child. We had information about Canada, Colorado, Kansas--we didn't know."

Just after 10 a.m. Friday, sheriff's deputies and police were called to the hospital in Grove, after getting word through the Cherokee Nation that the mother was coming in with the child.

"A grandfather of the child was cooperating with us and he was successful in getting the mother to bring the child into the hospital," Moore said.

While investigators questioned the mother at the hospital, the baby was treated then transported to Tulsa for additional care.

Sheriff Moore said, while it's up to doctors to determine whether the child has been harmed, there's no arguing the child is extremely thin.

"My observation would concur, the child is 8 months old, very, very slim, petite," Moore said.

Deputies are still looking for Ronnie Altaffer, but both he and the mother could face charges if they were intentionally hiding the child or if the child is as malnourished as DHS believes.

DHS wouldn't comment on the case Friday afternoon.

The sheriff's office said information about their investigation will go to the district attorney to consider charges against the couple.

China Prater was arrested and booked into Delaware County jail Friday.