Background: The Five Below store where police found a girl who had wandered away from home in the Santa Clarita Valley, Calif. (YouTube/KTLA). Inset: Law enforcement taking the girl into custody (YouTube/KTLA).
A California mom is in custody after her diaper-clad daughter was allegedly found wandering a busy street, carrying an iPad, wearing a backpack and accompanied by a small dog, sheriff”s deputies said.
A good Samaritan found the girl around 10 p.m. on Wednesday night as she made her way through a busy intersection near the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park in the Santa Clarita Valley, some 35 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. Local news station KTLA named Julius Rivera as the man who found the girl, who is believed to be around 6 years old.
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“I was trying to stop her, but then she was just running from me, so I called the cops, and they found her over here,” Rivera said, indicating the parking lot of the Five Below store where police collected the girl, according to the station.
“She was just wearing a diaper and a shirt, and a backpack, and she had her little dog and an iPad,” Rivera added.
Local Fox affiliate KTTV, citing law enforcement officials, identified the mother as Michelle Negrellos, 28. Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department records indicate that she remains in custody.
Sheriff’s deputies used the girl’s iPad to identify her name and address, KTLA reported. Deputies later allegedly found the girl’s mother asleep inside the home, and said she “displayed symptoms of intoxication, including slurred speech, impaired coordination, and a strong odor of alcohol.”
The mother appeared unaware that her daughter, who deputies said appeared to have developmental challenges, was not at home, the KTLA story said.
The girl was reportedly released to her father, who has not been publicly identified.
Negrellos was arrested for felony child endangerment, KTTV reported. The sheriff’s department, when reached by Law&Crime, declined to elaborate on the matter.
“This is still an active investigation,” a spokesperson said in an email. “There are no updates at this time.”
