Woman charged with felony child abuse
Jan. 21—TUPELO — A Lee County woman has been charged with child endangerment after allegedly leaving two toddlers alone in a hotel room while she went to eat.
Tupelo police responded to the Burger King at Crosstown around 3 p.m. on Jan. 14 for a disturbance where a woman was refusing to cooperate with Child Protective Services and their investigation into a child welfare case.
The investigation determined that the woman had left two of her children, both under the age of 2, in a room at the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Tupelo. When police arrived at the hotel a mile away, they found the toddlers were alone in the room. The children were immediately taken into safe custody by Child Protective Services.
Tupelo police spokesman Capt. Chuck McDougald said officers found evidence in the room that the mother had been using methamphetamine.
Lauren Stewart, 32, of Tupelo, was charged with two counts of felony child abuse-child endangerment, She is being held in the Lee County Jail in lieu of a $40,000 bond.
