A Louisiana woman is in jail after police say she falsely reported the kidnapping of her little son last week.
Artasia Viges, 24, called authorities at 1 a.m. on Nov. 5 to report her toddler son’s alleged kidnapping near U.S. 190 and Industrial Road in Eunice, according to the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Viges claimed she was parked on the road replacing a flat tire when “individuals in an older model truck” grabbed her son.
When deputies arrived, they quickly discovered that citizens had discovered the young kid alone in the parking lot of Heinen Medical Clinic with “abrasion injuries to his knees,” according to the sheriff’s office.
The boy, whose age was not disclosed, informed authorities that his mother “ran him over” and abandoned him by the side of the road. He was rushed to the hospital for treatment.
The sheriff’s office dispatched juvenile detectives to investigate because to the stark contrast in statements between the youngster and his mother.
The sheriff’s office stated that a further interview with Viges “revealed the awful truth,” which was that the little boy was not kidnapped, but rather left unattended on a busy highway and “allowed to run off in the night.”
“What started as a disagreement between a mother and a child became a bizarre reaction to the child having a tantrum,” the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook.
When Viges pulled over the car, her son leaped out before it came to a halt, injuring his knees. The sheriff’s office reported that he was “obviously not properly restrained.”
Viges allegedly told detectives that she did not try to track down her kid and “ultimately lost sight of him.”
Viges has been charged with cruelty to juveniles, child desertion, and false swearing to endanger public health and safety.
She is held in the St. Landry Parish Jail on a $200,000 bail.
Source: Louisiana woman charged after leaving her child on roadway, falsely reporting kidnapping: police
