ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando mother is facing charges after police said her young daughter was found wandering an area known for high crime after being left alone overnight.
Investigators said the 7-year-old was left to fend for herself for 14 hours.
Police said she was turned over other family members after her mother, 24-year-old Chantal Blanton, was arrested early Friday morning at the Windsor Cove Apartment Complex on Mercy Drive.
The girl reportedly told officers she didn't know where her mother was or who she was supposed to be staying with.
Blanton allegedly made plans for her daughter to stay with a friend, but that didn’t appear to be the case when police arrived.
Earlier in the year, the same complex was the scene of a deadly shooting where a man's body was found in the parking lot.
The Department of Children and Families is still looking into the circumstances surrounding the wandering child.
Blanton is being held in the Orange County Jail on child neglect charges. Her bond was set at $2,500.
WFTV
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