The mother of a toddler abandoned along with a dog inside a car during an attempted auto theft in the Highland Park area has been arrested in connection with an unrelated case, it was reported Wednesday.
The Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services published the child’s photograph and implored the public for help finding his family after the boy was found around 9:55 a.m. Sunday in the 300 block of North Avenue 52 after a car owner reported a man tried to steal his vehicle before fleeing on foot.
The owner then found a child and a dog inside his vehicle, according to the LAPD.
Detectives searched the area but were unable to locate the suspect.
Fox11 reported Wednesday that detectives have located a family member, but the boy remains in the custody of the DCFS. Officers in the LAPD’s Media Relations Section said they were unable to immediately confirm either report.
According to police, the dog appeared familiar with the child. The canine was taken into the custody of Los Angeles County Animal Services.
The suspect who fled from the scene Sunday is not the child’s father, according to Fox11, which reported that the suspect used baby wipes to remove his fingerprints from inside the car.
The boy’s mother, identified as Bianca Slaughter, 19, was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping an adult in an unrelated case, according to Fox11. Multiple media reports said she could also face charges for child abandonment.
Slaughter, who was arrested Tuesday night and booked earlier Wednesday, was being held in LAPD custody in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to online sheriff’s inmate records.