VIOLET, La. -- Two people are in jail after deputies say they found a toddler walking alone overnight in an eastern St. Bernard Parish neighborhood early Sunday morning.
Officials said Malik Evans, 17, was booked with child endangerment. His 3-year-old nephew was reportedly left in his care and wandered out of the house. The boy was found around 2 a.m., several blocks away in the 2800 block of Farmsite Road in Violet, deputies said.
The toddler's mother, Aaliyah Evans, was at work at the time and has not been booked in connection with the incident. However, officials said she was arrested on an outstanding warrant out of St. Bernard for theft.
Deputies said they searched the area for several hours after the boy was found trying to find his family. Sheriff James Pohlmann said the mother called the sheriff's office shortly after noon when she got off work and saw a Facebook post about detectives searching for the boy's family.
Anyone with information about this boy or his family is asked to call the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office at (504) 271-2501.