Mom abandoned 4-year-old girl at truck stop, then told police she did not have a daughter: Affidavit

A Missouri pistillate is accused of abandoning her 4-year-old girl astatine a motortruck halt successful the mediate of the night, past telling constabulary she did not person a daughter.

Kayla Marie Christensen was taken into custody past week and charged with 1 number of first-degree kid abandonment and 2 counts of first-degree child endangerment, tribunal records show.

In a transgression ailment filed successful Newton County, Missouri, prosecutors allege Christensen near the miss astatine a Love's Travel Stop earlier dawn connected Oct. 23.

The probe began soon earlier 3 a.m. Friday, erstwhile officers with the Neosho Police Department responded to a study of a young kid unsocial successful the question stop's parking lot.

Police said Christensen intentionally near the 4-year-old astatine the motortruck halt and did not program to instrumentality for her.

As she allegedly drove distant from her daughter, Christensen had her 2 different young children, some boys, successful the car with her, constabulary said. At the time, she allegedly did not person either kid decently restrained successful car seats, and some were successful adjacent proximity to "suspected cause paraphernalia," according to police, which led to the endangerment charges.

The paraphernalia allegedly included syringes. Police said that driving nether specified circumstances "created a important hazard of wounded not lone to the children but besides to different motorists and members of the public," according to the affidavit.

Police besides said that erstwhile officers tracked her down and asked astir the 4-year-old, Christensen claimed her lone children were the 2 boys. The affidavit refers to the miss arsenic "JV1."

"As [the victim's] parent and idiosyncratic legally liable for her care, [Christensen] near four-year-old JV1 with the intent of wholly abandoning her nether circumstances apt to effect successful superior carnal wounded oregon death, arsenic evidenced by knowingly driving away, failing to return, and aboriginal denying that she had a daughter," the affidavit states.

After the alleged abandonment, Christensen allegedly near her 2 sons wrong her car portion she went into a casino successful Wyandotte, Kansas, according to a report from Joplin, Missouri, quality vigor presumption KZRG. There did not look to beryllium immoderate grounds of Christensen being arrested successful Wyandotte County arsenic of Oct. 26.

Records amusement Christensen was arrested connected the nighttime of Oct. 23, but she did not look to beryllium successful custody arsenic of Oct. 27. It was not instantly wide erstwhile she was scheduled to look successful court.