Ontario couple arrested after possible motel birth in New Brunswick

EDMUNDSTON, N.B. — An Ontario couple have been arrested in New Brunswick after police issued a public appeal to find them with a baby suspected to have been born at a motel in the province.

RCMP Cpl. Jullie Rogers-Marsh said Tuesday that a woman and man were taken into custody Monday evening after a public tip led police to a motel in Edmundston, N.B.

She said the woman and baby were taken to the hospital to be examined, and the infant is now in the care of the Department of Social Development.

Michael Bonnell has been charged with two counts of failing to provide the necessities of life, while Yuyang Guan is charged with one count of failing to provide the necessities of life.

Both appeared in court Tuesday and were remanded into custody until their next court appearance Thursday.

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Two dogs believed to be in poor health were seized and turned over to animal care authorities. Rogers-Marsh said it appeared the dogs hadn’t eaten in quite some time.

Police had issued a release Monday indicating they were looking for a 26-year-old woman and her 30-year-old husband to do a “well-being check.”

RCMP say they received a report from a different motel, the Quality Inn Motel in Saint-Andre, N.B., on Saturday that a woman was believed to have delivered a baby in one of its rented rooms.

Police say the couple had been staying at that motel since April 15, but that “no one had seen the woman and the baby and there was concern for their well-being.”

The birth of the baby is believed to have taken place prior to May 25.

“I believe the baby’s in good health,” Rogers-Marsh said Tuesday. 

Before the couple were found, police said the couple had provided different addresses in Ontario, but could have been heading to Peterborough.

The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version spelled Edmundston incorrectly.