Grandmother charged with child endangerment after her baby was found in a ditch

FERGUS FALLS, Minnesota (KVLY/Gray News) – A Minnesota woman is in jail for allegedly drinking alcohol while watching her grandchild and leaving the child outside in the rain.

According to the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office, deputies received a call for a child welfare check on Tuesday around 4:30 p.m.

A man told authorities he saw a woman walking near Cedar Park Loop without shoes and carrying a baby.

The caller said he slowed down to ask if the woman was okay and she said she was okay, but he stopped nearby and suddenly didn’t see the woman with the child.

Authorities said the man then searched the area for the child after seeing the woman running away and eventually found the child lying on the ground in a ditch.

He picked up the child and called the police.

Officers located the woman, later identified as Anastasia Elizabeth Vaughn, walking in a nearby wooded area. She was identified as the child’s grandmother.

According to court documents, Vaughn was stumbling, had bloodshot and watery eyes and was slurring his speech with the odor of alcohol coming from her.

“(She) seemed confused and said she was looking for a child but couldn’t answer specific questions,” one of the deputies said.

Vaughn’s husband told authorities he did not know why she was out with the child, but confirmed his wife had been drinking earlier in the day.

The child’s parents were contacted and soon arrived on scene, authorities said.

Vaughn was taken into custody and booked into the Otter Tail County Jail on charges of child endangerment.

“She said she did not remember what happened and when asked how much she had to drink, she would not say,” according to court records.

A preliminary alcohol breath test came back reading .229, the sheriff’s office said.

Authorities reported temperatures in the area that evening were around 50 degrees Fahrenheit, with wind and rain.

In Minnesota, child endangerment is a gross misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail and/or a $3,000 fine.