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Guthrie Center woman charged after 1-year old found on a highway near Perry

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December 30th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

A Guthrie County woman tasked with babysitting a one-year old boy was charged with felony Child Endangerment, Sunday, after the boy was found sitting on Highway 141 west of Perry, Sunday afternoon. The Des Moines Register reports 31-year old Catalina Ortiz-Ortega, of Guthrie Center, was also charged with failure to have a valid driver’s license.

The woman arrived at the hospital and told authorities she was driving in the area earlier in the day, heard the rear door of the vehicle open and close but did not know the child had fallen out of the vehicle. Dallas County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the county hospital shortly before 4 p.m. when the boy was taken to the emergency room. The National Weather Service says at the time the boy was found, the temperature in Perry was 10 degrees with a wind chill of 8-degrees below zero.

The boy was later released into the custody of his mother.