Illinois child welfare officials say dad left girl in trash can near suburban forest preserve

Child welfare authorities say the father of a 3-year-old girl found alone near a suburban Chicago forest preserve left her in a trash can.

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services spokesman Andrew Flach tells the Chicago Tribune that an initial investigation found that the girl’s father put her in a trash can and drove away.

Thirty-five-year-old Faiz Ikramulla was charged Thursday with aggravated kidnapping. He’s jailed in Van Buren County, Michigan, pending extradition proceedings.

A passer-by found the girl Tuesday evening along a roadside near the forest preserve in Prospect Heights.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Office says the girl could only provide her first name and was identified after investigators learned her mother was in the process of filing missing person reports for the child and Ikramulla.