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Newport News mother arrested after 3-year-old found wandering

Posted at 7:01 PM, May 22, 2013
and last updated 2013-05-22 19:01:39-04

Newport News, Va.- He was three years old and cold; that's the only thing a couple in a Newport News apartment complex was able to figure out about a little boy they found wandering alone late at night.

They had been sitting outside on their porch when they saw him around 10:00 p.m. Friday.

The toddler was dressed in just a shirt and underwear and had his shoes on the wrong feet, according to police.

When the couple couldn't find his parents, they wrapped him up in one of their son's blankets and called for help.

Officers were able to figure out that he lived in a nearby apartment on Split Rail Circle. But when they got there, police say there were no adults home, just two more young kids ages 6 and 7, asleep in a bedroom.

According to a complaint affidavit filed in court, officers found a phone number for the kids' mom, 25-year-old Rekel Douglas, and called her.

When police got in touch with Douglas, she told them she was in a nearby parking lot.  Police were there for almost an hour before she got home.

The affidavit also says that Douglas told police she had been gone at least 20 or 30 minutes by the time they contacted her, and said she had left the kids alone to meet a friend.

Douglas was charged with three felony child neglect charges and has been released on bond.

NewsChannel 3 went to her apartment on Wednesday to see if she had anything to say, but the person who answered the door closed it as soon as they saw our cameras.

According to police, Child Protective Services has arranged for temporary custody for the kids.