Wandering Tennessee Toddler Found Alone On Porch Eating Sand, Mother Charged

[Sugar Cookie]

35-year-old Britnie Alaine Testeraces charges after authorities say her toddler wandered a neighborhood alone and was found eating sand on someone's porch.

An affidavit says that the arrest came after police responded to a report of a child wandering the neighborhood without adult supervision. Officers found a group of people there, with one person holding the 2-year-old child.

One person in the group said they found the toddler on a porch eating what they thought was kitty litter. Officers later learned the material the child was eating was sand that's used for sandblasting.

The hunt for the child's parents got underway immediately, starting with the home with the porch that had the sand the child was eating.

A man at the home told officers he had checked inside and didn't see that the parents were there, and said the home "was treacherous and filled with junk items."

Officers called the Department of Children's Services, and obtained permission to enter the home to see if the parents were there and to check on their well-being.

The report describes what officers found next:

Inside the home, we observed large items stacked high against the walls, in precarious positions. Additionally, there were junk items all over the floor, which made it difficult to move safely through the house. Multiple doors would not fully open due to junk items being crammed behind them. Officer Estermyer observed moldy food in the kitchen and rat droppings on the stove. The floor of one room was completely covered in junk items and trash, and I could not see the flooring below. Additionally, Officer Estermyer observed an apparent rifle unsecured in a bedroom closet.

Near the back of the home, officers found Tester and a man who was not the child's father asleep on on a mattress, with "clothes and trash covering the floor of the bedroom."

When officers woke the couple, the report says Tester jumped off the mattress and cried "Oh, the baby!" and tried to leave the room. The officers ordered the couple outside the home and asked them more questions.

The report says the officer decided to charge Tester with child abuse, neglect or endangerment.

What's more, the report says the child

...was also observed to have rashes on his legs, scrapes on his face and legs, a large red mark covering the entirety of the right side of his face, and what appeared to be bug bites on his upper torso.

Officers arrested and booked Tester. The child is now in the custody of the Department of Children's Services.

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Mother charged with neglect after Tennessee toddler found alone, eating sand on porch

A 35-year-old woman faces charges after authorities say her toddler wandered a neighborhood alone and was found eating sand on someone's porch.

wgme.com

 

[BuffettGirl]

I hope this is the wake up call they needed, I'm not sure it will be...

 

[Sugar Cookie]

I hope this is the wake up call they needed, I'm not sure it will be...

I say give the toddler a chance and sever his ties to this hag.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Officers noticed two females in the yard of the home, both known to police as users of narcotics. When asked if they knew the child, one of the women said she did and that the child lived at the 5006 Delaware address, but she did not know where the parents were

Upon further questioning, a man in the yard said the parents were in the house asleep. Officers asked the man to go inside and ask the parents to come out. The man went inside, but came out shortly, saying the parents were not in there. The man said he could not be sure if they were in there or not, that the house was filled with junk and was treacherous. Officers decided to search the home themselves due to the unusual statements about the condition of the home and known narcotics use.

Officers announced themselves at the home, and no one answered. Upon entry, they found the home stacked with large items against the walls, and with trash and junk items completely covering the floors, which made it difficult to maneuver. In the kitchen, they found moldy food and rat droppings on the stove. Several doors in the home were hard to open because items were stacked in the way. In a rear bedroom closet, officers found the parents asleep on a mattress. When they woke the parents, they jumped off the mattress and said, "Oh, the baby," and tried to exit the room.

Ms. Tester told police she had been asleep for approximately one hour before police awakened her. She said she last saw her son when he went to sleep with her and the man.


Officers asked her if she thought the house was suitable for a child to live in, and she replied "no." She said she and the child did not live there, but stayed there off and on.

The man told police the child was approximately two years old and lived there with him and Ms. Tester. He said the child was not his and he did not know where the child was. When asked if the house was fit for a child to live in, he replied, "No, sir." When asked about the child found eating cat litter, he said it was sand for sand blasting.

The child was observed to have rashes on his legs, scrapes on his face and legs, a large red mark covering the entirety of the right side of his face and what appeared to be bug bites on his upper torso.

Child Protective Services was notified in relation to the child.

East Ridge Woman Charged After Child Found Wandering Street, Living In Deplorable Conditions