Bluffton mother charged after leaving toddler home alone Saturday night, police say
Police have accused a Bluffton mother of felony neglect after they say she left her 2-year-old child at home alone, allowing the child to get out of the house and wander the neighborhood Saturday night.
Rachel Grieves 22, was charged Sunday with felony unlawful neglect of a child, said Maj. Angela Viens, a spokesperson for the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were called out to the Estate at Westbury Park, a gated community in Bluffton, around 11 p.m. after someone had spotted a toddler wandering around outside alone, Viens said. The child’s mother, identified as Grieves, had arranged for a babysitter earlier in the night but was told the babysitter would not be able to get to the home until after they finished up at work around midnight.
The child’s mother did not wait and left the toddler home alone, according to police.
As of Sunday, Grieves was still in custody at the detention center in Beaufort.
To report suspected child abuse or neglect in Beaufort County, call the South Carolina Department of Social Services’ 24-hour hotline at 1-888-227-3487.
