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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A man was arrested in Sacramento after he left his granddaughter with a stranger for hours while he got drunk at a bar, authorities said.
Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies were called around 7:45 p.m. on Monday to the parking lot of a bar in the 5300 block of Auburn Boulevard after a passerby called 911 to report a possible kidnapping. The caller reported that a man, later identified as 54-year-old Jason Warren, was asking for help in finding his 7-year-old granddaughter, whom he believed had been kidnapped for human trafficking, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies at the scene said that Warren appeared highly intoxicated.
Warren told authorities that earlier, he had given $20 to a homeless woman he did not know to take his granddaughter to a nearby thrift store while he went into the bar.
Sheriff’s officials obtained surveillance footage showing the woman leaving with the child.
The sheriff’s office called in additional resources, including the agency’s helicopter, to assist in the search for the girl. Thirty minutes into the search, the woman returned to the parking lot with the child after hearing PA announcements broadcasted from the helicopter.
The woman informed authorities that Warren had paid her to take the child to the thrift store. She also stated that Warren was drunk and that she did not think he could care for the child. She took the girl to her encampment to get food, authorities said.
“Deputies spoke with the child, who corroborated the ordeal. The child was not in distress and was medically cleared by Fire Department personnel at the scene as a precaution,” the sheriff’s office said.
Further investigation revealed that the child’s aunt had full custody but had asked Warren to watch his granddaughter while she was at work.
Following the direction of Child Protective Services, the child was cleared to return home with her aunt.
Meanwhile, Warren was arrested on charges of felony child endangerment and other offenses.