KENNETT, Mo. — A northern Arkansas mother faces a felony child endangerment charge after taking her newborn from a southeast Missouri hospital without permission.
Twenty-eight-year-old Amber Trammel of Paragould was arrested Wednesday in Dunklin County, Mo. along with her stepmother and aunt. Each remains jailed in Dunklin County on $25,000 bonds. The child is in the state's custody and is unharmed.
KFVS-TV reported that Trammel, Laura Stone and Melissa Howard took the child from Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center in Kennett about two hours after Trammel gave birth.
Kennett police say the women removed a security device from the baby's ankle so a hospital alarm would not be activated. Officers reached Stone by cellphone and encouraged the women to return the child, who was brought back several hours later.