Background: The 300 block of East Melrose Avenue in Bloomington, Indiana (Google Maps). Inset: Stephanie Wiederhold (Bloomington Police Department).
An Indiana mother left her young children alone at home to be with a man, leading to the younger of the two kids wandering outside "screaming" in search of her, authorities say.
Stephanie Wiederhold, 32, has been charged with the neglect of a dependent, Monroe County court records show. Her alleged transgression occurred on Monday night in Bloomington.
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The mom of two left her home on the 300 block of East Melrose Avenue to visit a man, according to an arrest affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime. She allegedly said she felt fine leaving because the children were sleeping.
But the kids were not asleep — or at least not for long. The Bloomington Police Department told Law&Crime that the younger child, just 3 years old, wandered outside looking for his mother who "had been gone for a long time." At about 11:30 p.m., neighbors inside their apartments are said to have heard the toddler "screaming outside." Law enforcement was called.
The older of the two kids was 10 years old, and he had a number for their mom, police said — the phone of the man with whom she was staying. Wiederhold answered the phone, was "informed of the situation," and she quickly arrived home, reportedly telling officers that she had just left to get gas and then "met with a friend."
When a responding officer asked her if she believed her older son could care for himself and his younger brother, she "hesitated to answer," according to the affidavit, and then "sighed" and "rolled her eyes."
"Asleep I thought they'd be okay," she reportedly stated, shrugging when asked if she hoped they would stay asleep once she left.
The affidavit notes that it was "completely dark out" at this time, and "it had been pouring rain outside when the child exited the apartment."
Furthermore, when investigators searched the surveillance footage of the nearby gas station, they saw no sign of her car having traveled there. Wiederhold was arrested and booked into the Monroe County Jail on a $2,000 surety or $500 cash bond.
Court records show that she has since bonded out.
Wiederhold was scheduled for an initial hearing in court on Friday afternoon.
