NEWTON COUNTY, MO — A Missouri woman is facing child-abandonment and child-endangerment charges after authorities say she left her 4-year-old daughter alone at a truck stop in Newton County.
Police were called to the parking lot in the early morning hours of Oct. 23 after a small child was reported wandering by herself, according to court documents obtained by KZRG. Investigators later identified the woman as Kayla Marie Christensen.
Authorities say Christensen then denied that the girl was her daughter when officers tracked her down. Court records say she told police her only children were the two boys in the car.
Police say the child was found wandering alone before dawn
The investigation began about 3 a.m. on Oct. 23, when police learned that a young child was alone in a truck stop parking lot. Officers responded after the report of the child moving around the area without supervision.
That initial call set off the search for the child’s parent or guardian. Court documents say officers eventually connected the girl to Christensen, who was later accused of leaving her there and not planning to come back for her.
The early-morning setting and the child’s age appear to have been central to the case. A 4-year-old left alone in a public parking lot would have been especially vulnerable, according to the allegations in the charging documents.
Christensen allegedly denied having a daughter when questioned
When officers confronted Christensen, she allegedly told them she did not have a daughter at all. Instead, investigators say she claimed that the only children she had were two boys who were in the vehicle.
That denial is a key part of the allegations now moving through the court system. Police say it suggested Christensen was trying to distance herself from the child at the center of the case.
Law enforcement has not publicly described any statement from Christensen beyond what is laid out in the court documents cited by KZRG and Law & Crime.
Court papers say the other children were left alone while she went gambling
In addition to the abandonment accusation, court records say Christensen left her two other children unattended so she could gamble at a casino, according to KZRG.
Investigators also say the children were riding without proper car seats. The charging documents further allege that drug paraphernalia was present in the vehicle with the children.
Those claims broaden the case beyond the truck stop itself. Prosecutors are treating the incident as more than a single moment of neglect, pointing to alleged unsafe conditions involving the other children as well.
Multiple child-safety charges followed the October arrest
Christensen was arrested on Oct. 23, according to Law & Crime. Authorities say she now faces one count of first-degree child abandonment and two counts of first-degree child endangerment.
The charges reflect both the alleged abandonment of the 4-year-old and the conditions involving the other children. First-degree child endangerment generally signals allegations that a child was put at substantial risk of harm.
No details were provided in the materials about a court appearance, plea, or whether Christensen had retained an attorney. The case remains tied to the allegations laid out in the charging documents.
What investigators say happened during the truck stop incident
According to the version of events described in the court records, the child was discovered alone around 3 a.m., the mother was later identified, and officers say she denied the girl was hers.
The same records say she had taken the other children with her, but left them without proper restraints and in an environment where police say drug paraphernalia was present. Investigators also allege she went to a casino instead of caring for the children.
As the case moves forward, the most serious allegations focus on intent. Police say Christensen abandoned the girl and had no plan to return for her, a claim that will likely shape the prosecution’s next steps.
