Two-year-old girl rescued in South Beach after her parents' overdose

A two-year-old girl was rescued by Miami Beach police officers after being found naked, crying, and shaking from the cold in an apartment in South Beach where her parents suffered a drug overdose. The case, reported by media outlets such as Local 10 News, has sparked shock and reignited the debate about the protection of minors in contexts of substance abuse and extreme neglect.

The incident occurred early Sunday morning in a second-floor apartment located near Pennsylvania Avenue and 16th Street, in South Beach. According to the police report, 39-year-old Alberto Medel called 911 around 4:30 a.m. while holding his daughter in his arms. The girl was completely naked, crying and repeating, "I'm cold, I'm cold." Medel was trying to put a diaper on her when he suddenly began to lose consciousness, became lethargic, and collapsed in front of the officers.

Shortly before, firefighters had found the mother of the minor, Paola Canales, 29 years old, nude and unconscious in the bathtub. They administered Narcan to address an apparent narcotics overdose, but the effect was minimal, so she was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital. Later, the firefighters returned to assist Medel, who was taken to the same medical center after falling into a state of unconsciousness.

During the intervention, the officers and firefighters were alarmed by the unsanitary conditions of the apartment: trash, dirty clothes, and general disorder. The minor, visibly distressed, was asking for food and clothing. An officer dressed her, fed her to calm her down, and took her to the Miami Beach Police Department. Later, she was handed over to a representative from the Florida Department of Children and Families, who warned that without a timely intervention, the girl "could have suffered injuries or even death."

Both parents appeared before the court on Wednesday. They are accused of child neglect without serious bodily harm and remain in custody under the immigration supervision of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Canales, 29 years old, is being held without bail at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, with no right to bail.

Medel, 39, remains at the Metrowest Detention Center, with a bond set at $2,500, which has not yet been posted.

This case is not an isolated incident. In recent weeks, several serious incidents of violence and neglect against minors in Miami-Dade County have been reported. At the beginning of March, a man was arrested after being accused of torturing his four-year-old son, including episodes of strangulation and confinement.

Days earlier, a teacher from Lincoln-Martí school had pleaded guilty to child abuse after being recorded hitting a two-year-old girl in a classroom.

Also in March, two men were arrested on a cruise for sexually abusing a minor in a sauna, while another man was detained for the kidnapping and sexual abuse of a 16-year-old teenager in Miami.

Authorities reiterate the importance of reporting suspicious situations and strengthening intervention protocols to protect at-risk minors, in light of the rising cases that reveal persistent failures in child protection.

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