Mother accused of leaving baby in car
A Uniontown mother is facing multiple charges after she allegedly left her 8-month-old son unattended in a vehicle in South Union Township last month. State police Trooper Ozzie Mills III said Melissa Marie Fordyce, 31, was charged with recklessly endangering another person, leaving a child unattended in a vehicle and disorderly conduct following the incident.
Mills said the incident occurred shortly after 7 p.m. Aug. 14 when Fordyce left her 8-month-old son unattended in her minivan while it was parked at a retail store in South Union Township.
The child was left inside the vehicle for about 22 minutes while Fordyce shopped inside several stores, Mills said. He noted that all windows on the van were closed while the child was left inside.
When she returned to the vehicle, she told police that she had thought her 12-year-old daughter had taken the baby with her, but Mills said that video surveillance from the parking lot showed Fordyce’s daughter exit the vehicle shortly before her mother exited and neither Fordyce nor her daughter had the child with them.
A preliminary hearing will be held at a later date.