The mother of 2-year-old Ziyon Dagner has been charged with child abuse and neglect after he was found safe.
An AMBER Alert was issued for Ziyon after he was reported missing early Thursday morning. A few hours after the alert, Ziyon was found safe in Norfolk, police said.
Watch related coverage: Neighbors react to AMBER Alert issued for 2-year-old who was later found safe
The man he was with at the time was detained by police and later released without being charged.
NPD detectives charged 35-year-old Ashley Dagner with one count of domestic assault and two counts of felony child neglect, according to police. She is being held without bond in Norfolk City Jail.
TFC Recycling driver Darwin Montgomery told News 3 that he heard the AMBER Alert and spotted a man and child matching the description issued in that notice, prompting him to call 911.
Watch: TFC Recycling driver recalls calling 911 after spotting man and child that matched AMBER Alert description
"What went through my mind was if it was my child: 'What would I do?'" Montgomery recalled. "So I had to go into Superman mode. Basically. So if I would have had to get out and subdue him myself, I might have tried that. But my mindset to call the authorities and do it the right way."
News 3 Norfolk reporter Jay Greene spoke with neighbors on Orange Street — where the child was first reported to be taken — to gather their reactions to the police response in their area. Fran Rice said she woke up and spotted a news truck and cameraman in her neighborhood.
“When I got up at 6:30 and saw a cameraman out front and a news truck—I went out and said, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’” Rice recalled.
Rice said her doorbell camera also captured police coming to her door in the middle of the night.
“I mean, that would have scared me to death if I had opened the door and seen a policeman there, but I didn’t know what was going on at the time,” Rice said.
