THINKING she was talking to a Good Samaritan who offered her a ride, Gelyn Salimbaga with her one-month-old baby boy boarded a flight stewardess’s car on Alcantara St. Barangay Sambag I last Saturday morning.
One hour later, the car disappeared together with her baby.
“Gi-approach siya aning babaye nga nagsakay sa Hyundai Eon nga puwa, giimbitar siya nga palitan siyag grocery tagaan siyag P1,000 apil ang bata (She was approached by the woman who was driving a red Hyundai Eon and who invited her to buy some groceries and allegedly offered her P1,000 as well),” PO3 Cliffton Manogura of the Fuente Police Office said.
But Michelle Collamar, a 28-year-old flight stewardess used a fake name, Irene Flores, to invite Salimbaga to join a program for mothers. Salimbaga was told there was a promo.
Cash
Salimbaga, 20, hesitated at first but later gave in to the idea of free groceries and cash. She rode to a nearby mall where the promo allegedly was, Manogura said.
But instead of driving directly to the mall, they spent several minutes driving around the Colon area. Salimbaga started wondering.
“Dili unta siya mokuyog. Napugos siyag sakay libot-libot sila ana, storya-storya. Unya gisugo siya sa babaye nga ipakuha ang birth certificate sa bata (She said she was forced to go with the woman. They roamed around the city, talking. Then, the woman asked her to get the child’s birth certificate),” Manogura said.
They went to Salimbaga’s home, and when she disembarked from the vehicle to get the papers, she left her infant boy inside the car with the suspect.
Searched
The car was gone when she returned at 11 a.m. At 2 p.m., a team from the Mobile Patrol Group (MPG) conducted checkpoints in search of the baby. They searched for the boy for three hours.
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the barangay captured the scene and from there, investigators narrowed down the search to the 7145 conductive sticker of the Eon.
Car
They called the car maker to ask for the address of the Eon’s owner. The car was located in Oprra Village, Barangay Kalunasan. It was registered under the name of the suspect’s husband.
The police went to the house and waited for the flight stewardess to arrive.
The baby was safely returned to his mother at 6 p.m. by another person.
The suspect was put on hospital arrest because she suffered bleeding.
A policeman in civilian clothes was deployed inside the private hospital to watch her.
According to Manogura, Collamar had a miscarriage twice last September and recently this month.
In an interview, Salimbaga said she does not know the woman, only her grandfather, who was a former barangay councilor in their place.
She said she will not file a case against her.
“Di lang kay maluoy man mi niya gud (I pity her),” she said.
The baby is her only child.