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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The mother of a missing Florida toddler has pleaded not guilty to charges of child neglect and giving false information to police.
The Florida Times-Union (http://goo.gl/wSJqSY) reports that Lonna Lauramore Barton entered her plea during a hearing Wednesday. She's out on bond.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has been searching for Barton's 21-month-old son, Lonzie, for more than a month. The boy disappeared July 24 while in the care of his mother's boyfriend William "Ruben" Ebron.
Police say they believe Lonzie's dead. They say Ebron knows what happened to him but has refused to say.
Police say Barton failed to tell them her son had a bruise on the back of his head and was leaking yellow fluid from his ears before she left him with Ebron.
Ebron is in jail.
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Information from: The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union, http://www.jacksonville.com
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