Background: A section of Kanawha Terrace in Saint Albans, West Virginia (Google Maps). Inset: Mark Blake Jr. (South Central Regional Jail).
Police in West Virginia say they found a young child in a diaper sauntering near a major road and soon learned that the man supposed to be watching the child was sleeping.
Mark Blake Jr., 42, has been charged with child neglect creating risk of injury, according to the Saint Albans Police Department and jail records reviewed by Law&Crime. He was booked into the South Central Regional Jail on a $25,000 bond.
On Wednesday, the Saint Albans Police Department was dispatched to an area of Kanawha Terrace, a major road running through Saint Albans, West Virginia. Officers had been told about "a small child walking alone while only wearing a diaper."
A "concerned citizen" found the child, "who was able to guide the individual to their residence," police continued. When the citizen knocked on the door and received no response, they called 911.
Officers arrived, and they, too, tried to speak with someone inside, but to no avail. However, the child eventually let them in, and officers searched the home.
As they did so, they came across a man "asleep upstairs," police said. As it turned out, the man was the father of the child, and he was identified as Blake, according to authorities.
"[T]his isn't my deal, I don't watch kids," Blake reportedly said as he spoke with officers. He was arrested, and police contacted child workers to further investigate.
The police department also said Blake was on bond for a "similar incident" from August 2025.
Saint Albans is a city of some 10,000 located in western West Virginia.