Chillicothe baby born in toilet at Burger King

Jona Ison | Chillicothe Gazette

CHILLICOTHE — A baby boy born in a toilet at the Western Avenue Burger King on Friday is expected to be OK, according to Chillicothe police.

The birth of the boy was discovered as officers responded to the restaurant due to a report of a man passed out in a vehicle and the woman with him having gone into the bathroom at about 2:30 p.m. Friday.

Upon arrival, police reported finding Zachary T. Frey, 26, of Chillicothe, passed out behind the wheel of a purple Saturn Ion which was still running. Officers were able to rouse Frey, who was described in the police report as drooling, having slurred speech, pinpoint pupils, and kept "nodding off."

Meanwhile, another officer and a medic went into the bathroom, where they found Elizabeth D. Sanders, 26, of Waverly, sitting on a toilet, a suspected ball of heroin allegedly on the floor beside her. According to the report, Sanders told the officer and medic she believed she had miscarried.

When the medic looked into the toilet, he saw a newborn infant lying face up and told Sanders to stand, which caused the baby to roll over face down into the water. The baby was quickly retrieved and found to still be breathing.

On Tuesday morning, Chillicothe Police Capt. Larry Bamfield said the baby was still being treated at Adena Medical Center and was expected to be OK. He was unsure of children services' plans for when the boy is released.

After Sanders was released from Adena, she was arrested on a warrant related to an alleged theft of money from her bar-tending job in March. She pleaded not guilty on Monday and was released on her own recognizance.

Frey, who police said refused medical treatment Friday, was charged with operating a vehicle while impaired and possession of drug paraphernalia. Additional charges could be filed pending lab results of suspected heroin allegedly found in a baggie in Frey's shorts pocket.

According to online court records, Frey had appeared in Chillicothe Municipal Court for an arraignment Friday morning on misdemeanor theft and criminal trespass charges and was released on his own recognizance after pleading not guilty. Frey has a 2017 OVI conviction and graduated from the Ross County Common Pleas Drug Court in October of 2016.