A woman in New Zealand has been arrested on child neglect charges after a 2-year-old girl was found alive inside a suitcase stowed in the luggage compartment of a long-distance bus.

 

 

 

According to police, the bus was making a scheduled stop in the small settlement of Kaiwaka, north of Auckland, when a passenger requested access to the luggage area. At that point, the driver noticed movement coming from one of the suitcases.

 

 

 

 

Upon opening the bag, the driver discovered the young girl, who was extremely hot but appeared physically unharmed, said Detective Inspector Simon Harrison.

 

 

 

Authorities did not specify how long the child had been in the compartment or the exact route the bus was traveling.

 

 

 

The girl was immediately taken to a hospital, where she remained under medical care as of Sunday night, August 3.

 

 

 

 

The woman, whose identity has not been released, was charged with ill-treatment or neglect of a child and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.

 

 

 

The bus company, InterCity, confirmed to local news outlets that one of its vehicles was involved in the incident. Under its policy, children under the age of 3 travel for free when seated on an adult’s lap.