A Winfield mother facing child-neglect charges has been released from jail on her own recognizance, Cowley County jail officials said Friday.
Lameshia Nealy, 27, was taken into custody Wednesday after local police found five children alone at a home in the 200 block of E. Fifth. Nealy faces five counts of child endangerment.
The children ranged in age from 2 to 9.
Police received a call from school officials when one of the children did not show up at school. Officers went to the home and determined someone was home but no answering the door, according to police chief Danny Parker.
Authorities eventually made contact with the oldest child who told them he had not seen his mother since Tuesday afternoon ? nearly an entire day earlier. Police found the trailer home to be dirty and the children in need of a bath and clean clothes, Parker said.
All were taken into child protective custody and relocated to Wichita. The oldest child, a boy, told police he had cooked for the kids. He told police he did not know how to get a hold of his mother.
Parker said all the children appeared to be in good health.
Nealy was located a short time later at the Cowley County Courthouse in Winfield. She was arrested at that time.
Nealy told investigators she believed her son could supervise the other children.
"Even though the mother felt like the 9-year-old could handle the other kids, you still have a dangerous situation," Parker said.
Nealy’s bond was set at $5,000 but she was released on her own recognizance by a judge. She was freed with the condition that she appears in court for her next appearance.
