Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Salt Lake police arrested Chantelle Rees for investigation of child abandonment and endangerment.
- Police say Rees left her 2-year-old son with a man after allegedly exchanging meth for gas money.
- The child was found dehydrated but safe.
SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake police have arrested a woman who they say gave her 2-year-old son to a man in a car in a parking lot, then passed out and reported her son as being abducted 11 hours later when she couldn't find him.
Chantelle Erichsen Rees, 32, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of child abandonment and child endangerment.
The incident began about 4:30 a.m. Monday when Rees went to an apartment complex near 700 South and 300 East along with her 2-year-old son.
"Chantelle stated she met the male at a gas station and had exchanged (meth) with him for gas money. Chantelle said she drove with the male to River Rock Apartments, where she left the child inside the car with the male and went inside to take a shower," according to a police booking affidavit.
But rather than going back to the car after her shower, Rees told police "she fell asleep because she had not slept in eight days," the affidavit states.
The 34-year-old man, who police believe had previously met Rees and was not a complete stranger, waited in front of the apartment complex for two hours before driving off, said Salt Lake police spokesman Brent Weisberg.
When Rees woke up, she could not find the man or her child. But rather than call the police, she began calling friends and acquaintances.
"Chantelle said she walked all over trying to locate the child and waited a few hours to call the police. Chantelle stated she should have known better than to leave her child with a male she had just met," the affidavit states. "(She) reported she left her 2-year-old son in a vehicle with an unknown male while she went to use the restroom and when she came back out, they were no longer there."
About 3:30 p.m. — nearly 11 hours after Rees left her son with the man — she called 911 to report that her boy had been kidnapped. Weisberg said police were close to issuing a missing and endangered person alert when detectives received information that the man may be in the Sugar House area.
About 8 p.m., the man's car was located at a store, and he and the boy were found.
"The male stated he had tried to contact Chantelle via phone, but she did not answer and after a few hours, he left with the child to try and figure out what to do with him. The male stated he was not sure how to care for a child but did his best to give the child water and snacks," the affidavit says.
The man was taken into custody for a probation violation. But Weisberg says he will not face any charges in connection with the missing child, as officers believe he did his best to care for the boy when the mother disappeared.
The boy was taken to a local hospital to be treated for dehydration and other undisclosed issues caused by long-term neglect, Weisberg said. The boy will be taken into state protective custody once he is released from the hospital.
Rees, who allegedly admitted she relapsed on drugs a few months ago, was arrested.
