A 22-year-old Florida woman is facing charges of child neglect after allegedly leaving her 3-year-old son unattended at a playground for over an hour while she was at work. The child was discovered playing alone and had nearly wandered into oncoming traffic. The mother, Danielle Bryant, was arrested earlier this month, according to court documents.
The incident took place on June 15, 2025, when a Walton County Sheriff’s Office deputy was patrolling the Silver Sands Premium Outlets around 1:11 p.m. A concerned citizen alerted the deputy about a toddler who had been playing alone at the playground since at least 11:30 a.m. The playground is situated approximately 150 miles west of Tallahassee.
Eyewitnesses reported that the toddler had almost run into traffic, but a quick-thinking bystander intervened and pulled him to safety. After unsuccessful attempts to locate the child’s parent, the bystander took the child to the Silver Sands security. The deputies responded to the situation at the outlet mall and found the child safe and being cared for by the security staff.
The bystander who saved the child from the traffic incident remained at the scene. He reported that he had noticed the child alone at the playground from about 11:30 a.m. until the traffic incident occurred about 45 minutes later.
The deputies managed to contact Bryant, the child’s mother, by phone around 1:40 p.m. They requested her to come to the Silver Sands Security office. Upon her arrival, deputies noted that she did not console the child or show any emotional reaction upon being reunited with her son.
Bryant informed the deputies that she had been working at a nearby store and had left her son at the playground, expecting a friend to pick him up. She claimed to have been watching him through the store’s window while working. However, she was unaware that her son had been with a bystander for approximately 45 minutes or that he had attempted to run into traffic. She had not contacted law enforcement to report her child missing.
The affidavit revealed that Bryant was employed at a fragrance store located just south of the playground. The weather conditions at the time were harsh, with a temperature of 88 degrees and a heat index of 101 degrees. The child did not have any food or water with him during the time he was alone at the playground.
Bryant is set to appear in court on July 22. Sheriff Michael Adkinson, following the arrest, stated, “This could have ended much worse. Thanks to the good Samaritans who stepped in and the quick action by our deputies, this little boy is safe. But this kind of situation is not only dangerous, it is unacceptable.”