Mom charged after she doesn't note missing child for hours

WEST MONROE, La. (AP) - A northeast Louisiana woman is jailed on child desertion charges after police say her 2-year-old was found wandering alone.

The West Monroe Police Department says officers were called to a home Saturday morning after someone found the child unsupervised.

KNOE-TV reports officers couldn’t find a parent at the time and handed over the child to the state Department of Children and Family Services.

Arrest records show police later received a call from the child’s mother, 34-year-old Amber Bonner, who reported the child missing four hours after officers were initially called out.

Records state that Bonner told deputies she woke up around 11:00 a.m. and thought the child was still asleep. They say Bonner stated she did not notice the child was missing until 1:00 p.m.

Because Bonner lives outside the city limits, police handed the case off to Ouachita Parish sheriff’s deputies. Bonner was placed under arrest and booked into the Ouachita Correctional Center. Bail is set at $25,000. It’s unclear if Bonner has a lawyer to speak for her.