May 17, 2009 7:03 pm US/Pacific
Mother Arrested After Girl Found Alone On Street
COACHELLA, Calif. (CBS) ―
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Police questioned and then arrested the mother of a 2-year-old girl found wandering the streets of Coachella alone Saturday.
Riverside County Sheriff's Department/CBS
The mother of a 2-year-old girl found on the side of a road in Coachella was held behind bars Sunday in Indio, charged with suspicion of felony child endangerment, sheriff's officials said.
Christina Lazos Guzman, 19, called Indio police to report her daughter missing about 4 p.m. Saturday from a home in the 84000 block of Corregidor Avenue, sheriff's Sgt. Anthony Baur and sheriff's Investigator Juan Zamora said.
Guzman's missing child report came nearly nine hours after a little girl in pink pajamas was found alone on the dirt shoulder of Avenue 48, about two blocks south of Corregidor, according to Sheriff's Department accounts.
Investigators began distributing photos and video of the little girl Saturday afternoon during their search for the girl's parents. Someone recognized a broadcast image of the girl and called authorities before Guzman called Indio police, Zamora said in a phone interview Sunday.
After Guzman was located and interviewed, investigators confirmed the little girl in custody was the same one reported missing, Baur said.
Guzman was arrested at 10 p.m. Saturday and booked at the Indio Jail about 30 minutes later on suspicion of felony child endangerment, according to jail records.
A jailer in Riverside confirmed Sunday that Guzman remained behind bars in Indio. Her bail was set at $15,000.
Guzman's little girl remained in protective custody Sunday, Zamora said.
The girl's name was not released.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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