By Belinda Nolan
Authorities claim the four-month-old girl was taken by her 17-year-old mother from a home in Hertford Rd during an access visit supervised by the Department of Human Services.
The mother and two associates – a woman and man both in their twenties – were apprehended in Gippsland three days later.
The older female was also charged with assaulting DHS staff.
The mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will appear in the Sunshine Children’s Court on 21 March.
Her two associates will face the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 31 March.
A Department of Human Services spokesman would not comment on the incident, other than to say the baby was safe and well.
