Toddler found walking down street late at night in Muncie, police say

MUNCIE, Ind. — A mother faces neglect charges after her roughly 3-year-old child was found wandering down the street alone in just a diaper at 11 p.m.

Alexis Fisher, 21, of Muncie was taken to Delaware County Jail and is being held on preliminary charges of neglect of a dependent, a Level 6 felony.

According to court documents, Muncie police officers were called to S. Ebright Street at 11 p.m. on Wednesday after a woman standing on her porch spotted an approximately 3-year-old child wandering down the middle of the road. The child was wearing only a diaper, according to the woman, and no one else was in the vicinity.

Police officers checked with dispatch and discovered that no missing children were reported. Officers began searching the area, after handing the child over to DCS, and nearly an hour later came across Fisher, who flagged police down on S. Beacon Street.

Fisher told police she had lost her child, according to the report. Fisher claimed the door to her residence was broken and assumed the child must have wandered out after Fisher had put the child down for bed.

According to Fisher, the door had been broken for several weeks but she didn’t have the money to fix it. She said she had gone to her own bedroom after putting the children to sleep and didn’t hear the door open.

Officers, however, pointed out that Fisher never bothered to call the police at any moment after learning her child was missing. Fisher did reportedly call her mother, nearly one hour after the child was discovered on Ebright Street. Police estimated a 55-minute gap between the child being found in the street and Fisher realizing the child was missing.

At this time, no official charges have been filed against Fisher. Final charging decisions will be decided by the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office.