A Louisiana mother claimed her son was kidnapped—but the child revealed what really happened.
Artasia Quantaya Viges was arrested for falsely reporting a kidnapping after she left her son on the side of a major roadway last week, police said. They received a report at around 1 a.m. near U.S. 190 and Industrial Road in Eunice, Louisiana.
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In reality, nearby residents found the boy injured and alone in the parking lot of Heinen Medical Clinic, ABC News reported.
“The mother reported that individuals in an older model truck had kidnapped her son as she was parked on the roadway attending to a deflated tire,” authorities said.
However, “The child stated to officers that his mother ‘ran him over’ and left him on the side of the road.”
Due to the mother and son’s conflicting statements, detectives from the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office further investigated the incident and conducted more interviews.
“A subsequent interview with Artasia Viges revealed the awful truth; there was no kidnapping and a young child was left unattended along a major roadway and allowed to run off in the night,” police said. “What started as a disagreement between a mother and a child became a bizarre reaction to the child having a tantrum.”
Apparently, the mother grew so angry at her child for throwing a tantrum that she abandoned him after he jumped out of her car. The child injured his knees as a result of fleeing a likely still-moving vehicle.
“The mother chose to leave the child out of the car, allowing him to run off in the dark, along major roadways,” police continued. “The mother admitted to detectives that she did not attempt to go after him and ultimately lost sight of him.”
While the investigation is ongoing, police have arrested Viges.
