For the second time in eight days, a toddler has been found walking in the middle of a roadway.
On Friday afternoon at approximately 3:20, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call from a motorist that a child was walking in the middle of the road near the intersection of Hwy 3439 and Henry Martin Lane, in Barbourville. Upon arriving, police found a two-year-old girl walking in the road with only a diaper on. The temperature, the sheriff’s office said, was 41 degrees.
The child was transported to a Barbourville hospital.
After an investigation, deputies located the toddler’s parents, 25-year-old Robert A. Williams and 21-year-old Patsy Murley, who had no idea their daughter had left the home. The couple told police they had been asleep for about four hours.
Social services reported to the sheriff’s office that a similar incident occurred involving the couple on December 3, 2019.
Both suspects were lodged in the Knox County Detention Center and charged with first-degree wanton endangerment.
On January 9, the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office responded to a woman running in the middle of the road. When deputies arrived, they found 21-year-old Destiny McQueen running in the roadway. She was barely coherent and “rambling,” according to police.
About eight-tenths of a mile from where McQueen was found, her six-month-old baby was located in the middle of the road wearing “minimal clothing” in 35 degree weather.
At McQueen’s home, police found the temperature inside the residence was only 60 degrees. Also at the home, authorities made contact with the child’s father, 41-year-old Michael E. Augst, of London, and determined that he was under the influence of drugs.
The couple was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a minor, two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment and public intoxication (excludes alcohol). McQueen was also charged with indecent exposure and disorderly conduct.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
