Thanks, I found the quote you linked to:
As the week progressed, this current week, a lead was generated that created a location of interest in the Houston area, in Harris County. Federal, state, and local resources deployed to that area of Harris County and began to investigate a resident there.
I take that to mean a lead/tip led them to that house/MF. Will be interesting to see if anything more comes out -- if the tip came from surveillance cameras, the car, or someone calling in report suspicions or odd behavior of MF.
I don't see anything in MSM or from LE about a relative or specific person reporting abuse to CPS.
This is an ongoing investigation and investigators are not going to identify who contacted CPS -- at least not at this time.
People don't only call CPS just for suspected child abuse. They call if they think a child is left alone in the house too long without adequate supervision while mom goes to the store, or they're worried a parent is ill or in bed and unable to properly care for their children. (Texas doesn't have a minimum age law where a child can't be left alone).
For this case, let's assume this hypothetical scenario:
On Thursday, Dec 12, HB and her newborn daughter vanish without a trace -- it's national news. If MF and HB were bff's since childhood -- more than 20 years-- it's likely HB would be like a daughter to MF's own family.
Your daughter (that may or may not have been pregnant) suddenly presents with a baby girl at the very same time that one very close to her goes missing. MF seemingly had the baby all on her own, allegedly at a birthing center, but she won't let the grandparents, aunts, uncles, see their new grandchild. The whole thing is very suspicious -- and the family wants to help just as Tammy came to help her daughter HB.
It's been one week now and the family thinks there's a baby in the house because they heard crying but MF won't allow the family to come visit. MF's mom is worried about her daughter and alleged grandbaby and calls CPS and asks if they can do a welfare check because her daughter has a newborn baby under very suspicious and stressful circumstances. She tells them her daughter's best friend and baby have also been missing for a week.
There's been no update on the investigation and MF's mom is sick with worry about both her daughter and HB too. Mom is very concerned about the state of her daughter and grandbaby under the circumstances.
At CPS request, Cy-Fair VFD goes out on the welfare check and finds MF at home with a baby in a swing. VFD is also aware of the resident's missing bff and her infant. The baby in the swing resembles the missing baby, and MF is being very evasive. All forces land on the property where they proceed with caution to remove the baby from the house and transport her by ambulance to the hospital.
In the meantime, investigators are learning MF has no birth certificate for her baby, there's no record of her at the birthing center, and the case is now wide open. Investigators know they found the baby and now they're searching for HB.
MF's car was hidden out of view from the street -- almost on the rear patio. We don't know if MF drove her car to Austin as the registration was expired, and no proof of insurance. There's also a problem with her driver's license. It doesn't follow that MF would risk driving that vehicle with expired tags to Austin when she could be pulled over with more penalties than expired registration.
Also, it appears that both MF's driver's license and/or her vehicle registration did not reflect her current address. If MF driving her own vehicle, I just don't think LE could track MF to Bo Jack Dr in Houston from surveillance video.
MOO