Non-custodial dad arrested after 3-year-old son found wandering alone near construction site (Huntsville, Alabama)

The boy was alone for four hours while the non-custodial father claimed he was sleeping. Why out-of-state visitation with little kids is not a real good idea....

Dad is identified as JONATHAN NELSON.

http://itemonline.com/local/x252043285/Child-found-near-construction-site-father-arrested

November 1, 2013

Child found near construction site, father arrested

By Brandon K. Scott Staff
Reporter The Huntsville Item

Fri Nov 01, 2013, 11:20 PM CDT

HUNTSVILLE — A 25-year-old man was arrested Friday for abandoning or endangering a child after his 3-year-old son was found wandering near a construction site at Highway 19 and Bearkat Boulevard.

The child was in custody of the Huntsville Police Department and Child Protective Services for nearly four hours before his father, Sam Houston State University student Jonathan Nelson, arrived at police headquarters.

HPD sent out a press release Friday afternoon indicating a child had been found at 11:30 a.m., and authorities were unable to locate his parents. Police would not release the name of the child, but HPD Lt. Barnes said he did not appear to be injured.

“The kid was just discovered wandering,” Barnes said. “We contacted CPS, had them up here immediately and we put out various media releases trying to find the parents.”

Nelson, according to his statement to police, was sleeping when the toddler walked out of the house located in the 200 block of Bearkat Boulevard.

The child was taken into custody of Child Protective Services and taken to a Houston airport to be with his mother, who has primary custody and lives out of state.

Nelson is being held at the Walker County Jail and bail hearing is scheduled for this morning. An abandoning or endangering a child conviction can range from a state jail felony to a felony in the second degree, with punishments ranging between 180 days to 20 years in prison.

“We conferred with the Walker County District Attorney’s Office on what path to take on this and they basically felt that the time frame was negligent,” Barnes said. “You’re talking almost four hours where the little boy was in our custody and we had no idea where the parents were.”