Mother of wandering toddlers arrested
Posted on Thursday, August 28, 2008
BELLA VISTA - The mother of two toddlers found walking alone on a busy road in Bella Vista in July was arrested Tuesday in conjunction with that incident and taken to the Benton County Jail.
Bella Vista police picked up Karmen Renee Lair, 34, and charged her with endangering the welfare of a minor, a felony. If convicted, she could receive a sentence of one to six years and a fine up to $ 10, 000. Her bond was set at $ 3, 500.
Lair's problems began July 1 when the Bella Vista police received a call about two children - a 2-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy - in diapers walking by themselves on the busy, hilly and curvy Highlands Boulevard. A number of people driving down the road that day found the children and were watching them until police arrived.
Officer Melissa Bates, a former Bella Vista patrol officer now working as a court bailiff, picked up the toddlers. The boy was wearing a soaking wet diaper with no other clothes, and the girl had on a sun dress and a wet diaper, Bates said that day. Neither child was wearing shoes.
While Bates was taking care of the children, officer Duke Brackney was trying to find their parents, Bates said. The investigation led him to a home on Hebrides Lane, the scene of at least five similar complaints in the past about children without adult supervision, Bates explained.
When Brackney arrived, he found the front door wide open, Bates said, and eventually located the mother sleeping.
"He had to physically shake her three times to wake her," Bates said.
While he talked to her and other family members, Bates took the children to the Police Department. Instead of giving the children to the family, she contacted the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services and turned the toddlers over to its custody.
The arrest warrant for Lair was issued based on the totality of the children's experience, including the list of complaints about the children being left alone other times, finding them alone on the road and the mother's condition when the children were found, Lt. Tim Cook said. Law enforcement's main concern was the welfare and safety of the children.
Lair was arrested at the Hebrides Lane home by BVPD officer Charles Tomlin and Sgt. Mike Kugler.
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