Mother left child to go to Wendy's, arrested for neglect

A woman was arrested Saturday after leaving her child home alone while she went to Wendy’s.

Amber Craig, 47, was arrested for neglect of a dependent, a D felony, Bloomington Police Sgt. Joe Crider said.

Police responded to 3229 S. Acadia Court at about 9:45 p.m. for a call of a small child screaming for her mother in the apartment parking lot, Crider said. The witness said he followed the child back into an apartment.

Police found the 3-year-old child asleep on the couch with no adult in sight. Officers attempted to interview her but couldn’t get much information.

Officers found a bill in the apartment with the mother’s name on it. They put the name through a police database and came up with Craig’s cell phone number. They called it, but the woman hung up on them.

Officers called again and the woman said she was at the grocery store.

When she returned to the apartment the officers told her they would review tapes at the grocery store to see if she was really there. She recounted her story and said she was at Wendy’s and was about to go to a liquor store.

She said she had locked the door, but the child had evidently figured out how to get out. The child was left in the care of her grandparents.