Two teenage parents fled a Sydney hospital with their newborn daughter after being told they could not take her home, the baby's grandmother says.
Fifteen-year-old mum Jenifer Morrison and her boyfriend Jayden Lavender, 14, left Nepean Hospital with baby Aria without being formally discharged about 12.30am on Thursday, sparking pleas from police for them to come forward.
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The young couple smuggled their 3-day-old baby from Nepean Hospital on Thursday, sparking a wide-scale search. Vision: Sevens News.
Authorities held concerns for the welfare of the mother and three-day-old Aria, but when the teenagers were located at Willmot, in Sydney's west, soon after 4pm, both were found to be healthy and safe.
Jayden's mother Tracy Lavender says Jenifer's first instinct was to run after being told by a social worker she wouldn't be able to take Aria to Ms Lavender's house to live.
"Jayden would not walk away from her," Ms Lavender told AAP on Thursday.
"He's been by her side since she told him she was pregnant."
Police had said the teens may have been travelling with an unknown man, but Ms Lavender said that person was merely a stranger in the hospital who helped Jayden with his bags after seeing him in tears.
"That tells me he knew that it wasn't the right thing to do," she said.
![Jayden Lavender, 14, and Jenifer Morrison, 15, were found after a frantic search.](/web/20170416184839im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/k/7/4/z/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvktoi.png/1492122705982.jpg)
"But he had to do what was right for his baby and his girlfriend."
The pair caught a train to Mount Druitt and bought a tent, sleeping bag and camping supplies from Kmart.
![Jayden and his daughter, Aria.](/web/20170416184839im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/k/9/g/y/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gvktoi.png/1492122705982.jpg)
Ms Lavender said Jayden was well-versed in outdoor survival and knew the Willmot area well.
The first she heard of the drama was when a police officer knocked on her door early on Thursday morning. She assumed the worst because her nephew died the day Aria was born.
"It devastated me," she said.
"I was in such disarray, I didn't know what to do."
Detectives told her to stay at home in case her son returned.
"I stayed there as long as I could, and then I couldn't bear it anymore," she said.
Ms Lavender found Jayden in Willmot and said paramedics checked over Aria, who was healthy.
"They were crying, she (Jenifer) said she just wanted to be with Aria on Easter."
Ms Lavender believed the social worker assigned to Jenifer's case had "an attitude" and the department had unfairly told her she wouldn't be able to take her baby back to Ms Lavender's western Sydney home, where a nursery had been set up, because of concerns about domestic violence and drug use.
She said those issues related to a foster son who had not lived there for six months.
"When the children are begging to come back to a place and the only thing stopping them is one worker, maybe they should bring in another worker to assess the situation," Ms Lavender said.
"You're talking about two kids that have just had a baby, that just wanted to stay with their baby - that's all it comes down to."
The teens were interviewed by police on Thursday evening while baby Aria was assessed back in hospital as the matter is being dealt with by the department of Family and Community Services.
AAP