Search resumes for infant believed thrown off NJ bridge; father held on kidnapping charge

Officials pressing search for baby in NJ river

NEWARK, N.J. — Officials are pressing their search for a 3-month-old girl whose father told police he threw the baby off a bridge into a frigid New Jersey river.

Search teams, including boats, dogs and helicopters, found no sign of Zara Malani-lin Abdur after scouring the area beneath the Garden State Parkway’s Driscoll Bridge on Wednesday. The search is under way again Thursday.

The girl’s father, Shamsiddi Abdur-Raheem, is being held on $700,000 bail. The 21-year-old is charged with kidnapping, attempted murder aggravated assault and child endangerment. He faces arraignment in Newark on Thursday.

Authorities say the father snatched the girl from her grandmother’s East Orange apartment while the baby’s mother was getting a restraining order against him on Tuesday.

He was arrested at his father’s home hours later.