An intoxicated woman reportedly left an infant later identified as her grandchild alone in a ditch in the woods.
On the rainy afternoon of October 29, a woman in Fergus Falls was reported walking in the woods that line Cedar Park Loop while holding a baby. She was reportedly wandering while shoeless and caught the attention of one of the people driving on the road. The man stopped his vehicle to see if they needed help, but the woman assured him they did not, and she walked away. Shortly after, the man saw her again and recognized that she was not carrying the child anymore.
According to reports, the man looked around and found the baby in a ditch. He called the authorities and told them about the situation. Deputies from the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to investigate the report and do a welfare check on the infant. When they arrived, the woman was still walking through the woods, and the deputies approached her. They reported that she appeared to be intoxicated and confused. When they checked her identity, it was discovered that she was the baby’s grandmother.
She reportedly told the deputies she was trying to find an infant, but she did not answer any of their questions, including whether she had been drinking. She was given a breath test, and the results reportedly showed a BAC of .229. When her husband showed up, he said he believed she had been drinking.
The woman was taken into custody and booked into the Otter Tail County Jail. She is facing preliminary charges of one count of child endangerment – placing a child in a situation that could cause harm or death. She was initially held in lieu of a 10,000 bond, but facility records indicate she has since been released.
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