Las Vegas Police Search for Woman Who They Say Left Little Girl in Casino Restroom

Posted on: December 31, 2020, 05:01h. 

Last updated on: December 31, 2020, 05:15h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More

Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Las Vegas Metropolitan police were still searching on Thursday for the woman who allegedly abandoned a three-year-old girl in a restroom in the Wynn Las Vegas casino. The child was left at the gaming property on Tuesday.

Security officers discovered the toddler at about noon on Tuesday. The girl was put into protective services. She was healthy.

The woman — believed to be the girl’s mother — and the child had taken a cab ride to the Fashion Show Mall Tuesday morning.

During the cab ride, the woman did inquire about the nearest shelter. However, she was last seen walking away from the Wynn hotel,” Las Vegas Metro police Lt. David Valenta told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The suspected mother and child were at the casino as of about 11 am. A short time later, the woman was seen walking on Las Vegas Boulevard.

As of earlier this week, police did not know the identity of the woman. Officers asked for the public’s help in tracking her down.

Police said she was black, in her mid to late 20s, 5 feet, 5 inches tall, and about 125 pounds. She was wearing leggings on Tuesday morning. She may be from Nigeria, police said.

While at the casino, she was wearing a blonde wig. It was in a ponytail.

Metro Police Ask for Info on Woman

Police ask that information about the woman be phoned in to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Abuse and Neglect Detail at 702-828-3364.

Or, to remain anonymous, callers can contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.

The incident is a reminder that various social services and community organizations can assist those households in need.

Remember, even during these most difficult times, help is available,” Valenta told KVVU, a local TV station. “All you have to do is ask.”

Often, adults who leave children unattended at casinos do so to allow the adults to gamble. Children typically are not allowed on casino gaming floors.

Prior Arrests for Unattended Children

In February a three-year-old autistic boy was left in a locked, unheated car for a half hour while his father went into Lincoln, Rhode Island’s Twin River gaming venue to place sports bets. The temperature was in the mid-30s on the windy winter’s day.

The father later was arrested for cruelty to or neglect of a child and obstructing an officer in execution of duty. The child was alone and seen by passersby in the car that was left in the Twin River Casino Hotel parking lot.

Last January, a Texas couple was charged with child abandonment after they allegedly left a sleeping toddler in a running car while they played electronic gaming machines in a Texas gas station.

While the couple were inside, two teenagers saw the running car and allegedly stole it. Later, the alleged thieves left the child in Houston’s MacGregor Park, which is located about 17 miles from where the car was left running.

The two men were charged with theft and felony kidnapping, police said.

In still another incident, in August 2019 an Oklahoma grandmother pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge for leaving her 5-year-old grandson in the back seat of her car. The little boy died.

The grandmother was in the Kickapoo Casino for more than six hours on June 21, 2018.