PRESS RELEASE
On December 19th, 2011, at approximately 1043 Hrs, Officers from the Palestine Police Department responded to the area of W.Oak @ San Jacinto in reference to an unattended child.
The complainant, a passing motorist driving westbound on W. Oak, observed what appeared to be a small child approaching a slow moving train, west of the railroad tracks near the intersection.
The child, a four year old male, was eventually detained by the complainant, and upon police arrival, a search was undertaken to find the child’s residence.
Officer Marcos Lara found that the child had walked away from a residence in the 300 Block of McClellan, after the babysitter reported leaving her two children, along the victim and the victim’s brother outside while she went to the bathroom inside the residence. The children varied in age from 2-6 years of age.
Child Protective Services was notified and an employee responded to the scene.
An offense report was generated for Abandoning/Endangering a Child with Criminal Negligence, a State Jail Felony. The case will be forwarded to the Palestine PD Criminal Investigation Division, and will be sent to the Anderson County District Attorney’s Office for consideration.
