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Authorities in Grain Valley continue to investigate an alleged ferret attack there, and the parents of the 4-month-old victim have been ordered to have no contact with their children.
Grain Valley Police Chief Aaron Ambrose said Friday that investigators continue to work on reports and wait for lab results related to the attack, which occurred Jan. 9 in a home on the 200 block of Young Street.
“At this point we’re still waiting to get all the stuff in before presenting it to the prosecutor’s office,” Ambrose said.
Immediately following the incident, which garnered national attention, police began interviewing witnesses and discussing the investigation with prosecutors.
The 4-month-old boy was reportedly seated in a rocker around 2 a.m. when the pet ferret entered and ate seven of the baby’s fingers. The parents told police that they had never heard the baby crying.
According to the police report, the mother told police the infant was seated in a rocker. She was in the same room with the boy, watching television. The infant’s father, her husband, went to the bedroom to sleep.
The mother fell asleep, but screams from the infant awoke her. The mother saw the ferret next to the boy in his rocker. She saw several fingers missing from the boy, who was covered in blood, according to the report.
The father awoke next and grabbed the animal, throwing it against an undetermined surface and killing it.
It was later determined that the ferret had severed the infant’s seven fingers with only the thumbs and a partial pinkie remaining.
Police are still trying to determine if the 6-month-old ferret, believed to be recently acquired by the family, had a crate or a cage or if it was running free throughout the house.
Meanwhile, the three children, including the baby, are living with other family members. Ambrose said the Department of Family Services has ordered the mother and father to have no contact with them.
Reports that charges had been filed against the parents were untrue, Ambrose said.
“I can tell you for certain that no charges have been filed,” he said.
The parents may face charges for neglect and failure to obtain a $100 license for the exotic pet.
The baby was in critical condition following the attack but is now recovering.
Ambrose told CNN News that a law enforcement colleague with ties to Shriners International called him and informed him of a procedure in which some toes can be surgically removed and attached to the hands in place of fingers. The procedure is free.
Ken Tuttle, the animal control officer for Grain Valley, told The Examiner following the incident that ferrets are not aggressive if nurtured in a controlled environment.
Authorities in Grain Valley continue to investigate an alleged ferret attack there, and the parents of the 4-month-old victim have been ordered to have no contact with their children.
Grain Valley Police Chief Aaron Ambrose said Friday that investigators continue to work on reports and wait for lab results related to the attack, which occurred Jan. 9 in a home on the 200 block of Young Street.
“At this point we’re still waiting to get all the stuff in before presenting it to the prosecutor’s office,” Ambrose said.
Immediately following the incident, which garnered national attention, police began interviewing witnesses and discussing the investigation with prosecutors.
The 4-month-old boy was reportedly seated in a rocker around 2 a.m. when the pet ferret entered and ate seven of the baby’s fingers. The parents told police that they had never heard the baby crying.
According to the police report, the mother told police the infant was seated in a rocker. She was in the same room with the boy, watching television. The infant’s father, her husband, went to the bedroom to sleep.
The mother fell asleep, but screams from the infant awoke her. The mother saw the ferret next to the boy in his rocker. She saw several fingers missing from the boy, who was covered in blood, according to the report.
The father awoke next and grabbed the animal, throwing it against an undetermined surface and killing it.
It was later determined that the ferret had severed the infant’s seven fingers with only the thumbs and a partial pinkie remaining.
Police are still trying to determine if the 6-month-old ferret, believed to be recently acquired by the family, had a crate or a cage or if it was running free throughout the house.
Meanwhile, the three children, including the baby, are living with other family members. Ambrose said the Department of Family Services has ordered the mother and father to have no contact with them.
Reports that charges had been filed against the parents were untrue, Ambrose said.
“I can tell you for certain that no charges have been filed,” he said.
The parents may face charges for neglect and failure to obtain a $100 license for the exotic pet.
The baby was in critical condition following the attack but is now recovering.
Ambrose told CNN News that a law enforcement colleague with ties to Shriners International called him and informed him of a procedure in which some toes can be surgically removed and attached to the hands in place of fingers. The procedure is free.
Ken Tuttle, the animal control officer for Grain Valley, told The Examiner following the incident that ferrets are not aggressive if nurtured in a controlled environment.
