WALTON COUNTY, FL – A woman from Santa Rosa Beach has been arrested and charged with child neglect after allegedly leaving her 5-year-old son home alone while she went to Target.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office responded late October 16 to a residence on N Gulf Drive following a report of a young child found alone in the roadway. Deputies arrived and spoke with the caller, who believed the child lived nearby with his mother.
Deputies located the child’s home and determined that the mother, 37-year-old Maureen Oneill, had left the residence without supervision for several hours. After multiple unsuccessful attempts to reach her, deputies learned Oneill had texted a neighbor stating she was okay and returning from Target in Panama City Beach.
Oneill later admitted she had left her son home alone, assuming a neighbor would watch him, although no arrangements had been made. Investigators say she departed the home around 5:40 p.m. and returned at approximately 9:40 p.m.
The Florida Department of Children and Families was contacted and approved temporary placement of the child with a neighbor until grandparents arrived from Tennessee to assume custody.
Oneill was arrested for child neglect and booked into the Walton County Jail. Bond has not yet been set.
