Mom Allegedly Smoked Weed While 4-Year-Old Was Outside In Freezing Cold

A four-year-old girl was treated for hypothermia after she wandered away from home in the middle of the night while her mom was allegedly out with friends smoking pot.

The child was outside in the freezing cold of New London, Connecticut, for about two hours before first responders found her unconscious hunched in a neighbor’s doorway and rushed her to the hospital. The outside temperature was estimated to be about three degrees when cops and firefighters located her about 4:30 a.m. The child was said to be wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt, pants, and shoes, but no jacket at the time.

The girl’s mom originally called 911 early yesterday morning to report that one of her three young children had gone missing from the apartment which she discovered upon checking on the kids after putting them to bed earlier that night.

According to cops, however, the mom, identified by multiple media outlets as Rebecca Reyes, 23, wasn’t inside the residence when her daughter left the premises, contrary to her original story.

“They say Reyes was not at home asleep, but actually left her children home alone inside their apartment while she was out joyriding with friends, smoking marijuana. She left at 2 a.m. and came back shortly after 3 a.m. That’s when she noticed her four-year-old daughter was missing,” WTNH reported.

According to the New London police chief, “they weren’t able to talk to (the child) at the time; she was going into early stages of hypothermia and starting to get frostburn on extremities. Initial medical tests show body core temp down to 92 degrees and starting to slip into hypothermia at that point.”

Reyes has been charged with risk of injury to a minor, first-degree reckless endangerment, and making a false statement. She is being held on a $250,000 bond and is due back in court on March 13, NBC Connecticut reported.

Grandparents are taking care of all three kids, including the four-year-old who is doing okay fortunately after being treated and released. The state Department of Children and Families is also investigating the incident.

The father of the three children is reportedly incarcerated.

The weather in the Northeast, as well as in many other parts of the country, has been bittterly cold for virtually the entire month of February.

Last month, a Houston-area man allegedly left his five-year-old son in the car in the middle of the night while he was partying inside a local nightclub.

[image credit: New London Police Department]