A resident of Ahaluna Drive in Gainesville was one of the people 18-year-old Grace An talked to on Thursday night.
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Collins said he and the Hall County Sheriff’s deputy – who arrived shortly after he did – never would have noticed the toddler because the boy was on the floorboard of the back seat, out of view.
Deputies arrived about the same time at the neighborhood street north of Gainesville, in reference to a 911 call about a suspicious person or vehicle.
Deputies went to check and found a 16-month old boy lying in the back seat with cellophane and packing tape wrapped around the child’s mouth, hands and feet, Bailes said. The locksmith arrived to find An sitting calmly on the ground behind her auto, the news station reported. The child was treated and released from the hospital and placed in the care of the Division of Family and Children Services.
No motive is known, but Grace An is charged with first degree child cruelty, reckless conduct and false imprisonment.
Investigators said the stress of being a young mother may have been a factor in her behavior.
An was transported to the Hall County Jail, where she remains without bond.
Collins popped the lock open and reached in for her keys.
“That’s when I heard the little boy crying”, he said.
Collins told 11Alive that he thinks An thought the child would not have been discovered. It’s just, how could anybody do this to a baby?
She said they speculate that there might have been a tragedy involving the lake. “I feel like if that child had been there much longer, then, yes, a tragedy would have been the outcome”. “No indication that [the mother’s parents] were aware of what was going on”, Bailes said.
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Bailes said as the investigation continues, An could face other charges.
