Child Found Wandering Outside in Frigid Cold

A mother and father were arrested last week after their 3-year-old daughter was found wandering outside their Scott Township home in the frigid cold.

Scott police charged Chauntae and Justin Penatzer, both 23, with two counts each of endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment after the couple’s daughter was found alone near their apartment at 503 Carothers Ave.

A neighbor called police shortly after 8 p.m. on Feb. 8 upon spotting the little girl, and officers came to the scene to investigate. Officers later went to the Penatzer’s apartment looking for the couple, but instead found their 1-year-old in her crib alone inside the residence.

Police said the 3-year-old girl’s feet were “freezing” and both children were taken to Children’s Hospital to be examined. Children, Youth and Family services were contacted and both girls are now in foster care.

Police said the parents told them Justin Penatzer’s mother, Dawn, was supposed to watch the children while the couple went to a church function and then dinner. But the children’s grandmother still was not at the house when the parents left, police said.

According to a criminal complaint supporting the arrests, police think the children had been left alone for more than an hour.

“It’s ridiculous,” Scott police Sgt. Jeffrey Skees said.

The preliminary hearing for Chauntae and Justin Penatzer is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday before District Judge Gary Zyra. Both are free on unsecured bonds.