Police: Woman charged after toddler found crossing Middle Avenue

A 31-year-old Elyria woman is facing charges after her toddler was found alone March 13 crossing Middle Avenue.

At 11 a.m., officers were called to Hamilton Elementary School after a woman found the 2-yearold girl crossing Middle Avenue westbound toward the school, according to an Elyria Police report.

A passersby gathered the child and waited with her until police arrived.

Officers began canvassing the area to find the child’s guardian when they saw a woman exit her home in the 1000 block of Middle Avenue and shouting toward the child, the report stated.

The woman told officers she was the child’s mother and “was looking all over the house for” the child and noticed the front door was unlocked.

The woman, who has five other children, told officers she believes two of the oldest children may have left the door unlocked when they left for school.

She said she’s usually awake when her children leave for school, but slept in that morning.

The woman also told officers the child had left the house last summer and had wandered across Middle Avenue during that incident as well.

However, police weren’t notified of the incident, the report stated.

The woman was involved in another prior case in October 2020 when Lorain County Children Services opened a case against her due to another child of hers being located by Elyria police while crossing Middle Avenue.

That child also was also 2 years old at the time.

Police charged the woman with child endangering and was released with her daughter, the report stated.

She is scheduled to appear for a hearing March 20 in Elyria Municipal Court.