HAMILTON COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - A 19-month-old is in the hospital after being left outside during Hurricane Irma.
Hamilton County Sheriff's Office says that arrested Angelo Mitchell after they found his child in a yard.
They say that dispatchers received a call at 11:30 p.m. Sunday night that there was a young child missing from a home.
Upon their arrival to home, the mother of the child stated to deputies that the 19-month-old was last seen with Mitchell on the porch of the house. The mother told them that when she saw Mitchell again, the child was missing.
Deputies say Mitchell was on property when Jasper Police arrived and appeared to be under the influence of something. He was able to give law enforcement officers a few different locations of where the child might be but they found nothing.
HCSO says they continued to search for the child and even used a canine to try and track the child down. They noted that they were searching during the worst part of Hurricane Irma.
The next day, at 11:30 a.m., a neighbor called authorities, saying that a child was in a yard.
When authorities found the 19-month-old, they were alive, but had suffered from severe exposure to Hurricane Irma and was in distress.
The child was transferred to Shands Live Oak and then later Shands Gainesville. HCSO was unable to provide an update on the child's condition.
Mitchell was later arrested and charged with child abuse without great bodily harm.
He is still being held in jail with no bond. According to the Sheriff’s department, he is scheduled to make his first appearance later this afternoon.
