Baby boy found after Amber Alert

Danielle Boyle ended up at a police station.

After a trip to the Burlington Mall, a 24-year-old mother arrived by taxi at the Arlington police station last night with her baby boy, ending the state's first Amber Alert for a missing child this year in less than four hours.

But the police station was not the intended destination for Danielle Boyle, the mother of 6-month-old Lucas Whalen, whom she was supposed to hand over to a temporary custodian Tuesday. The cabdriver brought her there after she disclosed she did not have any money for the fare.

"The cabdriver panicked and called us about a fare evasion," said Arlington police Lieutenant Thomas Diozzi. "I don't know where she was intending to go."

Police Officer Michael Hogan, who greeted the cab out front, recognized the woman from the Amber Alert that Arlington police issued midafternoon yesterday. "She was uncooperative at first," Diozzi said, "but Officer Hogan was able to talk her into going inside the police station."

Arlington police utilized the statewide Amber Alert system yesterday because they believed the boy could have been in danger, based on statements and alleged threats made by the baby's father, 42-year-old Michael Whalen, according to State Police. Police did not detail the alleged threats.

It was not known last night why the parents lost custody of the child. Police declined to comment on details of the custody case.

The public was alerted to be on the lookout for the boy, his parents, and a rented car they were believed to be traveling in.

Police last night were still looking for the father, whom they described as 5-foot-9 and weighing 180 pounds. He has dark blonde hair, blue eyes, and tattoos.

Police interviewed the mother for more than an hour, while an ambulance took the baby to Winchester Hospital for a checkup. "The baby . . . appeared to be in good health," Arlington police Lieutenant Kenneth Hughes said in a written statement.

Arlington police are still investigating the case and it is not clear whether any charges will be filed.

The Amber Alert system, enacted in 2003, enables local and State Police to activate urgent statewide bulletins through the media and on digital highway signs.

Law enforcement has to believe a child is in serious danger of bodily harm in order for an alert to be issued, said David Procopio, a State Police spokesman.

Over the past five years, law enforcement officials have issued 14 Amber Alerts, including the one yesterday. In the 13 previous alerts, all of the 18 children involved were found.

A year ago February police found two 18-month-old boys in Melrose about two hours after an Amber Alert had been issued.

The nationwide system was created as a legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped by a stranger 12 years ago while she rode her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then was found murdered four days later.

James Vaznis can be reached at jvaznis@globe.com.