Parents slapped with child neglect charges after a two-year-old girl was found wandering alone outside a Miami Beach apartment complex late Thursday night, while they were partying at a nearby strip club.
Wandering baby leads to child neglect charges for parents
The disturbing discovery was made by security guards patrolling the South Beach building around midnight, prompting a swift response from local law enforcement.
According to the Miami Beach Police Department, officers arrived at the scene shortly after receiving the call from the security guards.
The child, barefoot and wearing only a diaper and t-shirt, was clutching a baby bottle and appeared disoriented.
Body camera footage from the responding officers shows the heart-wrenching moment when they encountered the toddler, who was standing by a gate, seemingly trying to get out.
Officer Brandon Miller, one of the first on the scene, gently approached the little girl, crouching down to her level. “Are you okay, mama?” he asked softly.
The child moved toward him, seeking comfort as he extended his arms. Officer Miller then asked, “Where’s your mom?” but the toddler was unable to respond.
She continued to hold on to her bottle as officers worked to piece together what had happened.
The security guards who found the child told police that they saw her gripping the gate, as though trying to escape the enclosed area.
One of the guards recalled hearing the girl softly say, “Mama, mama,” as she wandered alone in the dark.
Cops try to find baby’s parents
Police then began a search of the surrounding area in an attempt to locate the girl’s family.
After a brief search, officers discovered an open door on the third floor of the apartment complex.
Inside, they found three other children, aged 12, 11, and 5, asleep and seemingly unaware that their parents were gone.
Further investigation led officers to Club Madonna, a strip club located just blocks away. Inside the club, they found the children’s parents, identified as 40-year-old Daryl Lamont Lentz and 36-year-old Ciera Hurd.
The couple, who had traveled to Miami from Maryland, told officers they had come to Florida to celebrate Lentz’s birthday.
According to police reports, Lentz and Hurd had left their children unattended for over four hours while they visited the strip club.
Lentz later told investigators that he had instructed their oldest child to lock the door behind them, believing the children would be safe while they were away.
Hurd added that all of the children were asleep when they left, and both parents claimed they did not intend to be gone for long.
Lentz claimed they had only been gone for a half hour when their baby was found wandering outside of the apartment.
Strip club-going parents arrested on child neglect charges
However, police said the couple had spent several hours at the club, and the discovery of their two-year-old wandering alone raised serious concerns about the children’s safety.
Miami Beach Police immediately took Lentz and Hurd into custody. The parents were charged with four counts of felony child neglect, one count for each child left in their care.
The Miami Beach Police Department shared details of the case on their social media accounts, including a touching image of Officer Miller holding the toddler in his arms.
“As investigators attempted to locate the parents, Officer Miller’s nurturing instincts kicked in — as he attentively comforted the child, eventually soothing her to sleep,” the department wrote in a post on Instagram, praising the officer for his compassionate handling of the situation.
During questioning, both Lentz and Hurd expressed regret for their actions. In an interview with CBS News, Lentz said, “Yeah, we’re definitely not doing it anymore.” Hurd echoed his sentiment, adding, “Yeah, we will never, ever do that again.”
The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) has since taken custody of all four children.
While Lentz and Hurd were released from jail on bond, they are currently fighting to regain custody of their kids.
A judge has allowed the parents to have supervised contact with the children, but they will remain in state custody until at least their next court hearing, scheduled for Tuesday.
