Oregon Woman in Custody After Leaving Her Baby for Hours Without Food or Diapers

A woman who left her six-month-old baby at a friend’s house without food or diapers for more than 10 hours, is in custody in the Lane County Jail.

Charged with Second-Degree Child Neglect

Faith Miranda Rhoads (24) of Springfield has been charged with second-degree child neglect and the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Rhoads was at a house with a history of criminal activity in the Hayden Bridge area last August, accompanied by the baby and another child, according to court records.

Rhoads told the male occupant of the house that she needed to fetch something and a while later when he returned to the living room, he found that she had left the baby behind without food or diapers.

The man contacted Rhoads several times and she kept saying she would return soon but never did. At 9.30 p.m. he contacted the Lane County Sheriff’s Office and reported that the baby had been left at the house for the last seven hours.

Rhoads returned to the house in the early hours of the following morning and, according to court records, told a deputy sheriff that she had left to collect a car seat to take the baby home. The errand had taken her longer than expected, she said.

She was arrested on January 17.

According to the deputy sheriff, Rhoads said she did not think it was abnormal to leave a baby for an extended period. She also said she had left some Gatorade for the infant.

Court records reveal that in 2019 Rhoads was accused of kidnapping after stealing a car with a baby inside while the mother was offloading groceries. She crashed the vehicle seven miles away.