Mother Arrested After 5-Year-Old was Left Unattended for Over 24 Hours
Source: Santa Barbara Police Department
On July 23, 2022, around 7:00 pm, the Santa Barbara Police Combined Communications Center received a call about a potential childhood endangerment case. Officers responded to a residence in the 800 block of Highland Drive to investigate.
Officers arrived and contacted the reporting party, a babysitter who had arrived at the residence to look after a five-year-old child. When the babysitter arrived, they found the child alone and unattended in the home. The mother was nowhere to be found. The babysitter also observed a “ghost gun” handgun with ammunition on the kitchen counter and another “ghost gun” in the bedroom. Both guns were easily accessible to the child.
The babysitter immediately contacted 9-1-1 to report this unusual incident. When officers arrived, they learned the babysitter was hired through a childcare website. The babysitter expected to meet the child’s guardian and was extremely surprised to find the child unattended upon arrival.
Officers learned the child had been left unattended for over 24 hours in the home without food. Detectives were notified and assisted with the case by obtaining an authorized search warrant from a judge.
Officers were able to obtain information regarding the mother's current location. When located, the mother was intoxicated and placed under arrest. The arrest occurred at a residence in the 1100 block of Cliff Drive around 8:30 pm. She was identified as Lauren Tracy, a 46-year-old Mammoth Lakes resident.
Unfortunately, Tracy was the only family member available in town, and no other adults were with the child. Child Protective Services responded to care for the five-year-old. Tracy was booked in the Santa Barbara County Jail on multiple felonies; child endangerment, possession of undetectable “ghost guns,” possession of a firearm with a prior misdemeanor conviction, unlawful possession of ammunition, child neglect, and criminal storage of a firearm. Tracy’s bail was set at $100,000.
17 Comments
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Jul 25, 2022 05:45 PMSo sad for the child, but, hopefully, some good will result if a loving, responsible family member is given custody .
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Jul 25, 2022 07:56 PMSure am glad that baby sitter did the right thing!
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Jul 26, 2022 02:15 AM"Her bail was set at $100,000, and jail records showed she was not in custody Monday night." noozhawk
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Jul 26, 2022 06:51 AMShe's a real estate agent in Mammoth. Co-owner of Mammoth Properties.
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Jul 27, 2022 10:29 AMShe was fired and also was never a Co-owner.
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Jul 26, 2022 06:57 AMWonder who her friends ate in sb? Sounds like a bunch of scumbags we should be keeping an eye out for
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Jul 26, 2022 10:07 AMWhy? You don't know what she told her friends about where her kid was or that she irresponsibly handles ghost guns. We've all had friends that have gone way wrong, doesn't make us all scumbags. Focus on the real scumbag here: her.
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Jul 26, 2022 07:21 AMSee https://propertiesofmammoth.com/agents/
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Jul 26, 2022 08:27 AMNOT mom material. I hope that she gets help and in the meantime that she is NOT allowed to have custody of that child.
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Jul 26, 2022 11:15 AMThe Mom needs custodial care. Either she's an alcoholic or mental case or both. That's far from normal behavior.
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Jul 26, 2022 12:26 PMWow, that must be her son Lucas mentioned on the website. Wonder if her "two dogs" are starving unattended back in Mammoth. Oh wait, she easily posted $10,000 for bail and could beat feet. How interesting to watch her advertising video, she seems to have everything going for her. Yet we can all speculate what addiction or affliction has brought her to this pass. Not all the people with drug issues are encamped by the freeway, many are passing in high profile jobs until they take a fall like this. Maybe this will be the "hitting bottom" she needs to get help.
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Jul 26, 2022 01:59 PMThe article says that bail was set at $100,000, not $10,000.
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Jul 26, 2022 04:48 PMBail bondsmen take 10%; 10% of $100,000 = $10,000
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Dec 01, 2022 09:07 PMYou shouldn't put a child's name in the comments.
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Jul 26, 2022 02:07 PMThat’s hitting bottom alright. Wow.
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Jul 27, 2022 08:14 PMAnd some people here will say :"there's nothing wrong with this "birthing person", Social services are here to take care of those children, and the "birthing person" has all the rights to go out and get drunk rather than taking care of those annoying children". And the kid should be grateful for not having been aborted".
This is where today's woke society is !!!
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Jul 28, 2022 02:39 AMFond, that is just silly hyperbole.