A 27-year-old mother was arrested after she left her 4-year-old daughter in a Joshua Tree gas station bathroom and didn’t inquire about the lost girl for nearly five hours, authorities said Wednesday.
Nichole Pederson went to the Valero gas station in the 61000 block of Twentynine Palms Avenue about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday with her husband Robbie Pederson, 36, another unidentified adult, and several young children, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department stated in a news release.
The group drove away from the gas station a short time later but had left the 4-year-old in the restroom, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Someone finally discovered the little girl still at the gas station about 7:30 p.m. and called authorities.
Deputies reviewed surveillance video and talked to the girl but were unable to identify her parents because the girl could only give their first names, the Sheriff’s Department stated.
The girl, who was in good health, was then handed over to Children Family Services.
Nearly five hours after leaving her daughter at the gas station, Nichole Pederson called the Valero about 10:30 p.m. to ask about the girl, according to the news release.
When deputies located her, she refused to lead them to the other children seen in the surveillance video, the Sheriff’s Department stated.
Investigators managed to find the five children Wednesday morning and took them into protective custody, but authorities have been unable to locate Robbie Pederson.
Nichole Pederson was booked on suspicion of felony child endangerment and was being held on $100,000 bail.
An arrest warrant for Robbie Pederson was being sought for the same charge, according to the Sheriff’s Department.