Aunt Jailed After Deputies Find Toddler Alone

A 21-year-old Tampa woman has been charged with felony child neglect after Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies found her 2-year-old nephew sitting alone at the front gate to an apartment complex.

According to the sheriff’s office, the boy was spotted at 7 a.m. Tuesday outside 12406 N. 15th St. in Tampa. The toddler was unable to tell deputies his name nor did he know which apartment he came outside from.

A 2 ½-hour search of the complex and nearby duplexes turned up no one who claimed the child, an email to media from the sheriff’s office stated. Child protective investigators were called out and took custody of the boy while the search for a family member continued.

At 10:30 a.m., Tiarra Bunkley approached a deputy to say she was looking for her nephew, the email said.

“The mother and father of the child both responded to the scene, advising the child was dropped off with Bunkley around 6:30 a.m. this morning,” the email said. “Bunkley was the sole person in custody, control and responsible for the child’s well-being while at a mutual relative’s apartment inside the complex.”

Bunkley brought into custody and booked into the Hillsborough County Jail. The boy’s parents were sent to the Child Protective Investigations Division’s office to meet with investigators and pick up their child, the email said.

Bunkley was being held in lieu of $2,000 bond at the Hillsborough County Jail Tuesday afternoon.

Booking photo courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

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