‘What Happened to Your Baby?’ East River Dad Stays Silent

What to Know

• The father of the infant found floating in the East River over the weekend arrived in NYC late Thursday to face charges[hhmc]

• The 37-year-old man said nothing to the crowd of reporters who yelled, "What happened to your son?" as he was led from a police precinct[hhmc]

• The baby, Mason Saldana, was discovered near the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge Sunday just after 4 p.m. by a tourist from Oklahoma[hhmc]

The father of the 7-month-old infant who was found floating in the East River over the weekend said nothing to reporters who repeatedly yelled, "What happened to your baby? What happened to your son?" as he was led, hands cuffed behind his back, from a police precinct en route to a court hearing Friday.

Wearing a stark white jumpsuit, 37-year-old James Currie shuffled past the media throng, his head down, as two officers escorted him to a waiting SUV.

Currie landed at Kennedy Airport on a Korean Airlines flight Thursday night. He had tried to flee the country following the discovery of his son's body, and was apprehended in Thailand, law enforcement sources have said. Homeland Security Investigations, NYPD and Customs and Border Protection worked together to track him overseas and bring him back to the U.S.

Exclusive video obtained by News 4 shows a handcuffed Currie being led to a swarm of agents waiting on the jetbridge after his plane landed Thursday. He complied with orders to put his hands behind his head and stood silently as an officer placed a chain around him, then led him off the plane, the video shows.

Father Accused of Dumping Baby in East River Flies Back Home

Currie, of Co-op City in the Bronx, is charged with concealment of human corpse in the alleged dumping of his baby boy, identified as Mason Saldana, authorities say. Additional charges could be filed pending an autopsy, though a determination on the baby's cause of death is not expected this week.

The baby boy, who was born in January, was alive when he was exchanged between the mother and father at the mothers residence around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, NYPD Chief Dermot Shea previously said. About 24 hours later, when the childs father was seen leaving his home with a backpack covered with a blanket, fashioned as a baby carrier, the baby was likely dead, officials said.

Currie was then seen walking in lower Manhattan, between South Street Seaport and Wall Street Heliport, around 3:10 p.m. with the backpack, officials say.

The baby's mother allegedly attempted to get in touch with Currie before sensing something was amiss, and she contacted authorities Monday night.

During the "blood-curdling" call to 911, the mother said the child was not dropped off at day care, Shea said, adding that she'd heard about the child in the water, feared the worst and started crying.

It was because of this call that authorities were able to identify the child found in the river.

NYPD Reveals Timeline in East River Baby Case

According to officials, there was a court-stipulated agreement for visitation involving the parents, who were not legally married, and the child, but there were no red flags.

It's unclear if Currie has an attorney.

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NBC

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