Casey Nicole Thornton

A Nappanee woman has been arrested and charged with neglect of a dependent, a level 6 felony, from incidences occurring between Oct. 7, 2014, through and including April 5, 2015.

Casey Nicole Thornton, 22, 209 Stonewall Court 2, Nappanee, was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail at 12:15 a.m. Wednesday, May 13. She is being held on $10,000 surety bond.

Charges were filed against Thornton on Monday in Kosciusko Superior Court 1, after at least four instances of a child walking outside without any adult supervision, as far away as one-half mile from his Nappanee residence. The child was reported as being 3-years-old. In all cases the child was not wearing clothing appropriate for the weather.

Events began, according to the affidavit of probable cause, on Oct. 7, 2014, Nappanee Police Officer Matthew Tice responded to a call in the area of Stonewall Court Apartments, Nappanee. The caller stated she saw a small child running down the road with no parent. A neighbor saw the caller and the child and stated the child had done the same thing on Oct. 6. The woman was directed to the child’s home.

The caller told police when she went to the home and knocked, it was answered after several minutes. The female, who opened the door, grabbed the child and started yelling at him, before closing the door without saying anything.

Tice went to the apartment, knocked and yelled out, but no one answered the door. He could hear movement inside. Management was contacted and the name of the occupant was given to authorities. Child protective services were notified.

The officer noted on that day the temperature was 50 degrees. The child was found between 50 to 100 yards away from his residence.

The second call was received on Jan. 2, 2015, of a young child with no coat and supervision running in another area of Nappanee. Nappanee Officer Joshua Harner reported the caller stated the child was running down the street and had crossed the railroad tracks. Upon stopping to check on the child, the child ran back across the tracks with the crossing arms coming down and a train nearing the intersection. Another person near the intersection grabbed the child to keep him from running back across the tracks.

While taking the child back to his residence, the officer was waived down by two individuals who identified the child and where he lived. One of the individuals stated the mother had left for work and the child had climbed out the window. The temperature was 33 degrees and the child was located one-half mile from his home. Child Protective Services were notified as well as the mother.

A third instance occurred on Jan. 18, 2015, when Nappanee Police Officers Kris Hershberger and Dan Hawkins, responded to a call of a child with no coat or supervision. Officers recognized the child when located and was taken to the police department, and CPS contacted. The temperature that day was 35 degrees and he was again one-half mile from his home. The child was only wearing pajama pants, long-sleeved blue T-shirt, black shoes, no socks and shaking due to the cold weather.

Approximately one hour later the mother contacted police reporting the child missing. She stated the two had fallen asleep on the couch and when she woke up he was gone.

The final report was made on April 5, 2015, when Nappanee Police Officer James Baumgartner responded to a call of a missing child. While en route he was advised the child was located. Thornton told police the child had exited the home by the front door and had been missing for approximately 10 minutes. He was found at a neighbors, who told her they thought she was sleeping, so they decided to care for the child.

The neighbor told police the child knocked on the door and was invited in. After 15 minutes of his arrival the mother came to the home looking for him. The temperature was 42 degrees that day and he was wearing boots, shorts and an unzipped coat. He was approximately 50 to 100 yards from his home. The 3-year-old stated his mother was sleeping.