I don't like seeing children die either. However, that doesn't mean I'm willing to let the State intervene every time it's perceived that a child "is at risk". If you want to arrest a mother for going shopping and locking her kids in the car (whether it's hot or cold out), go right ahead. But if she's on her way back to her car, with her keys in hand, then I think it's just stupid to intervene. I think the "we didn't know if the child had been kidnapped or not" excuse they gave is a bunch of bunk. Sounds to me like they were looking for some excuse to justify the actions of a community service person.

Even if she had given them the name of the baby, who's to say that she isn't lying? She could show them her ID then give them any random name that matches her last name. Somehow, I don't think they were going to let her go based on that alone.