Inset: Anastasia Elizabeth Vaughn (Otter Tail County Jail). Background: The area where Anastasia Elizabeth Vaughn left her infant grandchild in a ditch (Google Maps).
A 53-year-old grandmother in the North Star State will not have to spend any more time behind bars despite admitting to getting drunk and abandoning her infant grandchild in a roadside ditch on a Minnesota day that was cold, rainy, and windy.
Otter Tail County District Judge Michael D. Fritz on Tuesday ordered Anastasia E. Vaughn to serve 45 days in jail, but suspended the sentence for two years, instead allowing Vaughn to make up that time by completing 492 hours of community service within one year, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show. The sentence came after Vaughn reached a deal with prosecutors and agreed to plead guilty to one count of endangering a child in a situation that could cause death or harm, a gross misdemeanor. She was also ordered to pay $585 in fines and court costs and will serve an additional two years of probation after completing her community service.
Vaughn had been facing a maximum of 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $3,000.
As Law&Crime previously reported, the incident took place Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, which is about 175 miles northwest of Minneapolis, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Authorities said a driver at about 4:30 p.m. called the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office and requested a welfare check on an infant child. A man was reportedly driving on Cedar Park Loop near Swan Lake when he came across a woman — later identified as Vaughn — who was walking in a wooded area near the road carrying a baby.
Despite the fact that it was raining, windy, and only about 50 degrees outside, the driver said that the woman was not wearing any shoes. When the man pulled over to speak to the woman, she told him that she and the child were “fine” and then kept walking.
A short while later, the man pulled over and said that he spotted the woman running away from a roadside ditch and did not appear to be carrying the baby. The driver went to investigate and reportedly found the baby on the ground in the ditch. He reportedly picked up the infant and called 911.
Upon arriving, sheriff’s deputies said they located Vaughn walking through the woods near the ditch where the baby had been left alone. Deputies noted that Vaughn appeared to stumble when she walked, reeked of alcohol, and was slurring her words when she spoke. Her eyes were also reportedly bloodshot and watery.
Authorities quickly identified Vaughn as the baby’s grandmother, though she reportedly appeared unsure.
Deputies wrote that Vaughn “seemed confused and said she was looking for a child but was unable to answer specific questions.”
“She said she did not remember what happened and when asked how much she had to drink she would not say,” the affidavit states.
Vaughn’s husband — the child’s grandfather — arrived at the scene and told authorities he and his wife lived nearby and also confirmed that Vaughn had been drinking alcohol that day. Vaughn took a breath test which showed her blood alcohol content was 0.229, nearly triple the legal limit to drive in Minnesota.
