Toddler Wanders Down Lake Drive: Sheriff

PUTNAM VALLEY, NY — A Lake Peekskill woman is facing a charge of child endangerment after a 2-year-old wandered away from their home. At about 11:38 a.m. Oct. 12, a caller dialed 911 and reported that a toddler was alone and in his bare feet wandering along Lake Drive in Lake Peekskill.

A woman who lives in the neighborhood saw the boy and stayed with him until Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene, Putnam County Sheriff Donald B.Smith reported.

The deputies could not immediately identify the boy or ascertain where he lived. Sheriff’s investigators and caseworkers from Child Protective Services were dispatched to the scene to assist in the investigation and to care for the child.

At about 1:17 p.m., the mother of the child was located and identified as Cristina Andrulis, 36, of 110 Lake Drive. According to reports, she told authorities that she had been home with the child, put him down for a nap at about 10:30 a.m., and then gone to sleep herself.

She said that when she awoke, she realized that he had left the residence and went out to look for him.

Upon further investigation into the circumstances of the case, authorities decided that Andrulis had allegedly acted in a manner that endangered the physical safety of the child. As a result, she was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor, and was issued an appearance ticket directing her to answer the charge in the Putnam Valley Justice Court.

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