Last Updated on 3/12/2010

Published on 12/1/2009

The following reports were collected  from local law enforcement offices:

Three-year-old lost, mother charged
A 20-year-old Maryville woman was charged after her three-year-old son got lost prompting a search late Nov. 24.
When police found the woman on Oak Street in Maryville, she said she and her toddler were walking home from Food Lion when they were chased by a dog on Britt Street.
The woman said she started running into a wooded area to try to escape the dog.
“She left her child behind,” the report states.
The woman said when she went to go back for her son he was gone.
The woman said she then called her mother to help search for the child.
The suspect did not call 911. That call was made by her mother.
Personnel from the police and sheriff’s offices joined city firefighters in the search for the boy.
About 45 minutes after the search began, the child’s mother received a call saying the boy had been spotted on Oak Street.
He was  found hiding behind some bushes.
Since it was a cold and rainy evening, EMS was called to check the child for possible hypothermia.
With the child safe, his mother was arrested for unlawful neglect by a legal custodian.
As she was being handcuffed, the woman “was more concerned about what was going to happen to her cell phone than she was about her child,” the report states.
The report continues by stating “during the whole incident she never showed worry or concern for the safety of her child and when he was located she did not run to (him) like a relieved mother should.”
The child was released to his grandmother.

Landfill thefts
The question of who broke into the Georgetown County Landfill and stole more than $13,000 worth of equipment still has not been answered.
The breakin occurred either Nov. 23 or 24, according to a county worker who discovered the crime.
He showed investigators a building that had been broken into.
Taken from inside were numerous items including a lawn mower, Weed Eater and two pressure washers.
Another lawn mower, valued at $4,000, was also taken.
A long list of tools were taken from another area of the property where Santee Cooper is doing some construction work.

Pumpkin vandalism
A woman from Torrey Drive in Andrews called 911 Nov. 23 to report a vandalism.
She said someone smashed a pumpkin into her bicycle which was in her yard.
“No damage to the bike could be seen and it looks like it needed to just be cleaned,” the deputy wrote in his report.

Possible scam
A Georgetown man returned home Nov. 23 and found a letter on his door.
The letter stated “Urgent. Please contact us immediately.” It also had a 1-800 number to call.
The man’s wife called the number but “nothing happened like it had been disconnected.”
She them Googled the number and discovered many people across the country have received the same note.
Apparently it is a scam.

Animal cruelty
Deputies were sent to Nicole Lane because of a possible domestic situation Nov. 22 and while they were there they saw a bulldog tied to a shed.
The dog was sleeping in a pile on insulation.
The animal was extremely thin and his ribs were showing.
Both the food and water bowls were empty.
A woman in the house said the dog belonged to her boyfriend. When asked if they had some food for the animal, she said “no.” She said she had been giving it scraps when she had some.
The man was charged with cruelty to animals.

Compiled by Scott Harper