Mother Leaves Twin Boys With Sitter, Never Returns

Social workers Wednesday were looking for the mother of identical twin boys after she left the toddlers with a baby-sitter in Hollywood last weekend and did not return, Los Angeles police said.

A woman living in an apartment in the 1200 block of North Berendo Street told police that the mother asked her on Saturday to watch the boys--estimated to be 6 to 8 months old--for a few hours, Officer Stacy Miyamura said.

The baby-sitter, who was not identified, said she had seen the mother around the apartment building and thought she lived there, but did not know her name.

The mother called the infants Christopher and Steven, and she left a bag containing clothes and food for them, the baby-sitter told police.

Police, who were notified of the incident early Wednesday, took the infants to the department’s Northeast Station, gave them stuffed toys and contacted social workers.

Emery Bontrager, a staff assistant at the county Children’s Services Department, said the boys will be placed in a foster home. If the mother does not return, a hearing eventually will be held to determine where the children will be permanently placed.

If the mother is found, depending on the circumstances, she could face criminal charges of child abandonment, police said.