Discarded Baby's Mother Arrested

LAKE PLACID - A Lake Placid woman, who sheriff's detectives say threw her baby into the trash -- which led to a massive search at the county landfill -- was being held in the Highlands County Jail on a $150,000 bail Tuesday and for immigration authorities to pick her up.

Silvia Zanchez, 24, of 109 Sarasota St., was charged Monday with identity theft and unauthorized possession of an identification card. Both charges are third-degree felonies.

However, Zanchez has not yet been charged in connection with improperly disposing of human remains.

Zanchez is an employee of Lake County Farms in Lake Placid, according to a news release by sheriff's Maj. Mark Schrader.

She provided a Social Security card and Residential Alien Card to Lake County Farms as identification. Detectives learned through investigation that the Social Security number she provided was assigned to another person by the Social Security Administration and the Residential Alien Card was fraudulent, Schrader stated.

Sheriff's investigators spoke with the actual Social Security card holder, who told them she did not know Zanchez, nor did she give her permission to use her number, according to the arrest report.

Zanchez confessed to detectives she had purchased both forms of identifications from an unknown man, about four years ago in California, Schrader stated. She also reportedly confessed she was currently in the United States illegally.

Search teams, including sheriffs' personnel, landfill employees, volunteers and four cadaver dog search teams, kept looking over the landfill Tuesday for evidence of the infant's body.
Detectives continued the investigation into the death of the infant, and future charges related to this death are expected, Schrader stated.

The high bail was requested because Zanchez's identity could not be verified.