Carolina Hernandez, wanted in connection with a child-abuse case in which her 7-month-old daughter tested positive for cocaine and methamphetamine, turned herself in to police this morning and was charged with negligent child abuse, the Las Cruces Sun-News is reporting.

Hernandez, whose age is now given as 35, was taken to the Dona Ana County Detention Center where she is being held on a $10,000 bond, the paper reported.

A Child Protective Services report showed that Hernandez and her daughter both tested positive for methamphetamine and cocaine, and that the baby had higher levels of cocaine in her system than the mother, the Sun-News said. 

8:40am -- Baby Tests Positive for Drugs; Mom Sought: Woman's 7-month-old daughter had cocaine, methamphetamine in her system.

An arrest warrant has been issued for 33-year-old Carolina Hernandez of Las Cruces who is charged with one count of negligent child abuse after her 7-month-old daughter was found to have more cocaine in her system than her mother, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.

The baby also tested positive for methamphetamine, the paper said.

Hernandez, who is also known as Carolina Coleman, hasn't been seen since mid-February, police told the Sun-News.

"This is one of the more heart-wrenching cases we have seen in a while," police spokesman Dan Trujillo told the paper. "And it's very important that we do find the mother of these children so that the investigation can continue. Obviously we're asking for the public's help in locating her."

Hernandez is 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighs about 125 pounds, has brown hair and brown eyes, police said.

She and her 42-year-old boyfriend Michael T. Novak, the baby and a 13-year-old child had been living in a two-room garage that is meant for commercial use, the Sun-News reported.

The 13-year-old told police that Novak and Hernandez would seclude themselves in one of the rooms where the child could smell something burning, the paper said.

Novak was arrested on Feb. 28 on a charge of child abandonment, and was released the same day from the Dona Ana County Detention Center after posting a $10,000 bond, the Sun-News said.

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