Newport, TN (WOKI / WVLT) – A Newport Police Department officer is facing a child neglect charge after investigators say a two-year-old child wandered away from a White Pine home and remained unsupervised for several hours.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said 30-year-old Alexander Lane was charged following an investigation that began Friday morning when a young child was discovered alone in a White Pine neighborhood.
According to authorities, officers with the White Pine Police Department responded to the area of Walnut Street near Boling Street shortly before 8 a.m. Friday after a child allegedly arrived at a residence without an apparent parent or guardian.
Police immediately began efforts to identify and locate the child’s parents or caregiver.
Just after 10 a.m., Lane contacted law enforcement to report that a child in his care was missing, according to investigators.
Sheriff’s office officials said detectives responded to a residence on Dolphin Way, where Lane told them he had been responsible for supervising the two-year-old as well as two other children.
Lane reportedly told investigators that he fell asleep on a couch sometime after midnight Friday morning. When he woke up around 10 a.m., he discovered the child was gone.
The investigation determined the child had walked approximately one-tenth of a mile from the home and had been away from the residence for roughly three hours before being located.
Authorities did not report any injuries to the child.
Following the investigation, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office charged Lane with one count of child neglect.
Lane was transported to the Jefferson County Detention Center, where he was booked on the charge and later posted bond.
According to the sheriff’s office, Lane previously worked as a corrections officer with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and is currently employed as a patrol officer with the Newport Police Department.
WVLT reported that it contacted the Newport Police Department seeking comment regarding the arrest but had not received a response.
The case remains under investigation.
