Grandmother arrested after 1-year-old found crawling in Modesto street
A grandmother was arrested on Saturday after a motorist spotted a 1-year-old boy crawling across G Street in west Modesto.
The child was crawling north in a crosswalk at Third Street around 12:30 p.m., said Modesto Police Department spokeswoman Sharon Bear.
She said the motorist immediately pulled over, got the baby out of the road and called 911. Responding officers located the child’s grandmother at a nearby residence.
Bear said the grandmother, 47-year-old Jennifer Souders, was babysitting the 1-year-old, as well as 5- and 7-year-old children, while their mother was away. Souders told officers one of the older children left a front gate open and she was in the backyard playing with the older children when the 1-year-old disappeared.
But there were inconsistencies in her statements. Bear said the grandmother told officers the boy had been missing only for about 10 minutes but officers were with him for 20 minutes before they located Souders.
Officers searched the home and found drugs and paraphernalia accessible to the children, as well as other unfit living conditions. They included spoiled food, which created a smell that, along with dog urine, permeated the house. The kitchen was filled with dirty dishes and trash cans were overflowing.
Souders was arrested on suspicion of three counts of child abuse and possession of narcotics and paraphernalia.
Child Protective Service is investigating. The children’s mother was contacted and could also potentially face charges, Bear said.
This story was originally published March 13, 2023 at 12:38 PM.
