Mother Arrested For Leaving Child In Car At OCCC

An Oklahoma City woman is charged with child neglect after leaving her child inside a car, unattended on the campus of Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) on Monday afternoon.

OCCC campus police received a call about the child being left in the car around 5:45 p.m. on Monday. There they found the child inside of a gray 1995 Chevy Camaro, with the windows rolled down approximately 2 inches.

Officers were able to retrieve the child and located the mother, 21-year-old Elliott Bryant, on campus. Surveillance footage showed Bryant arrived on campus approximately one hour before the child was discovered and removed from the vehicle.

Oklahoma City Police officers were then called to the scene to interview Bryant. Bryant initially told police she had texted the father and believed he was coming to pick up the child soon. Officers asked if he could check the phone and Bryant agreed.

The officer reported that there were no messages in Bryant's phone indicating that the father was going to come pick the child up. When she was confronted with this information, the officer said Bryant changed her story. He then said she claimed to have spoken to the father over the phone about picking the child up. Again the officer looked and there were no incoming or outgoing messages to the father.

The father was called out to the scene and spoke with police. He told the officer that he never spoke with Bryant about coming to pick up his child and in fact did not know anything was happening until he was called to come speak with DHS and police.

A DHS official on scene determined that the father was suitable to care for the child, and the two went with EMSA to OU Children's Hospital to be checked out.

Bryant was arrested and booked into the Oklahoma County Jail on one count of Child Neglect. Her bond was set at $10,000.