Child found outside Murrells Inlet home late at night. 2 arrested for leaving child alone
A man and woman were arrested for leaving a child home alone after the child was found wandering late at night outside the Murrells Inlet residence.
Neighbors called police after seeing the child, telling officers that this isn’t the first time the child was left alone, according to a police report. It is unclear the age of the child.
Ismael Enrique Navidad Velazquez, 38, and Kaina Stefania Vargas Bernal, 31, were both charged Jan. 14 with placing a child at risk, harm or abandons.
Velazquez also faces drug charges after what police believe is cocaine was found in a bowl next to the bed in the room the young child sleeps, the report said.
Horry County Police responded to Eaddy Lane in Murrells Inlet about 11:30 p.m. Jan. 13. The officer discovered after talking with the child that no adults were home and he was home by himself, the report said. The child told the officer that Bernal was at work. He also told officers that he was home alone for an extended period of time.
After contacting Bernal, she told the officer that another person was supposed to be watching the child and was “shocked” to find out that he was home by himself.
While waiting for Bernal to come home, the child showed the officer which room he was staying in. It was there that officers found a bowl containing a white in color, powder-like substance with a credit card in the bowl on the beside table. Officers determined from a field test kit that it was cocaine, according to the report.
Velazquez said that Bernal and the child stay with him regularly and that he shares his room with Bernal and the child when they stay.
Both remain in the J. Reuben Long Detention Center Tuesday.
