The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Big Pine Key woman on Friday for child neglect after finding a 2-year-old completely unattended in a storage area.
Anita Roxanne Brown, 28, was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia and child neglect.
A deputy was dispatched 37 West Sandy Circle on Big Pine Key after receiving a complaint that squatters were in the area. Upon arrival, the deputy noticed a small child crawl out from underneath a cargo trailer, accompanied by two large dogs. The deputy described the entire property as “a storage area not suitable for living,” and said that the ground consisted of “a mix of pea gravel, glass, metal and weeds.”
According to the report, the child was dirty and had an abrasion on her cheek, and she appeared to have been underneath the trailer for a significant amount of time. However, the child was alert and appeared happy to see the deputy. Due to the circumstances, paramedics were called to the scene to check on the child.
A search of the area revealed that the only other person in the area was a woman passed out on a couch of the trailer that the child was under. She eventually woke up and noticed the deputy, and she began to shove a piece of aluminum into her purse upon seeing him. The aluminum was later determined to be a makeshift pipe. The deputy searched the woman and also found about two grams of marijuana.
The Florida Department of Children and Families was called. DCF took custody of the child.
Brown was arrested and transported to the Monroe County Detention Center, but she was released later the same day.
Information in the Crime Report is obtained from reports provided by area law enforcement agencies.
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