DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A 37-year-old woman faces charges of child neglect after she abandoned her 1-year-old baby on the beach in Volusia County early Wednesday morning, according to an arrest affidavit.
Police said they responded to the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Daytona Beach on North Halifax Ave. in reference to a disturbance on Nov. 8.
Recommended Videos
According to the affidavit, a person told police that someone woke them up saying that their mother took their 1-year-old brother and walked eastbound through a vacant lot across the street. The witness told police that the mother did not have the child when she “arrived back at the car.”
During a 911 call, one of the woman’s children, a 17-year-old, can be heard telling the operator that the family is from Detroit and that his mother has been having “little episodes lately,” later saying, “My mom needs help.”
Due to mental health concerns that came up during the 911 call released by Daytona Beach Police Department, we are not naming the mother at this time.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
The teen told officers that his mother stated that she met the 1-year-old’s father at a nearby convenience store and gave the child to him.
However, her son said the child’s father lives in Detroit, and out of concern, started to look around and call out the child’s name, but was unable to locate him, according to officers. The teen then returned to the address on Halifax Avenue and asked security to call 911.
Police said when they made contact with security at the church, they told police that they made contact with the mother prior to the incident to see why she was in the church parking lot. The security guard told officers that they ”gave them permission due to her wanting the kids to have a safe place to sleep.”
According to the affidavit, security told police that they witnessed Mitchell walk east through the lot across the street, but was unaware what was happening.
Daytona Beach police said they later spoke with the woman to ask where the 1-year-old was, and she kept telling them the child was safe and with his father. When police were able to speak with the father on the phone, he told them that he was in Detroit and was unsure where the baby was.
In a second incident report by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy was on patrol in the area of 800 N. Atlantic Ave. around 12:37 a.m. when he heard Daytona police on the radio saying they were looking for a 1-year-old who had been missing for about 10-15 minutes.
The deputy responded to the area to begin searching for the child and at 12:45 a.m., received a call from dispatch saying a child was found near the Main Street beach approach.
According to the report, the deputy arrived and found the child in the care of four people who were trying to warm the baby. The deputy took the baby to his patrol vehicle, turned on the heater and started to assess the child’s condition.
Deputies said the child was unresponsive, cold to the touch, shivering, had an elevated pulse and “shallow, crying respirations.”
The deputy started to move the baby’s arms and legs in a continued effort to warm the child, the report states, before turning the child over to EMS.
Bystanders told deputies they removed the child’s wet diaper, which was found on the ground nearby, in their attempts to warm the baby.
The child’s mother was arrested and faces a felony charge of child neglect and was being held without bond at the Volusia County jail.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: