GREENBRIER, Tenn. (WKRN) — A mother has been taken into custody after being accused of leaving her 2-year-old alone for more than nine hours.

According to Greenbrier police, workers with a maintenance crew at an apartment complex found the toddler alone in an apartment during a scheduled check Thursday morning. They notified authorities who immediately began canvassing the apartment for the child's mother — identified by police as 33-year-old Shelby Bradshaw.

Curt Allen with the Greenbrier Police Department, was the first officer on the scene.

"I walked up to the bed and the little girl stood up in the crib and put her arms up like she wanted me to pick her up and I did, so I held her until a family member got there — probably 25, 30 minutes after the call came out," Allen said.

Allen, a father of two, said seeing the little girl alone and scared in a soiled diaper broke his heart.

"It makes you upset — knowing this kid was left alone for the extended amount of time that it was; makes us wonder what the mother was thinking doing this," Allen said. "You could tell she [the child] was trying to figure out what was going on. She was scared [and] nervous — and once we got in there and picked her up, she seemed fine that we were there and maybe just happy that someone was in the house with her at that point."

Around 10:15 a.m., Bradshaw arrived at the complex — more than nine hours after leaving the child alone. You can hear officers interacting with her on body camera footage. She admitted to driving about 25 minutes away to visit a man. Bradshaw told police the child typically sleeps through the night and she had expected to be home before the child awoke.

Police said it's doubtful the child slept through the night because of severe weather and thunderstorms in the area.

"She made statements that she is a full-time mother and needed a break and that she had tried to rely on others the night before, but wasn't able to find anybody," Detective Joseph Chelini with the Greenbrier Police Department said.

As of publication, Bradshaw's in the Robertson County jail on a $25,000 bond. She's been charged with felony child neglect.

The child was not physically harmed and, as of publication, has been placed in the custody of other family members. The Tennessee Department of Children's Services is investigating the incident as well.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/greenbrier-mother-child-neglect-charge-toddler-alone-hours/