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Grain Valley, MO —
The parents of a Grain Valley child who lost seven fingers in a pet ferret attack in January remain missing.
Aaron Ambrose, police chief for Grain Valley, said Monday the warrants for Ryan and Carrie Waldo, issued last week following their absence at a pretrial conference on Nov. 4, remain active.
Ambrose said police believe they’re in the Indianapolis area.
“That’s what we believe,” he said, adding that their children, three of them including the victim, live in that area.
An attorney for the couple said missing the pretrial hearing was a misunderstanding and that they haven’t left the state for Indiana, where they had moved from, according to other media reports last week.
The couple are charged with first-degree child endangerment of their 4-month-old son. They pleaded not guilty in June, and three of the other children, including the victim, have been living with a relative.
The attack occurred on Jan. 10. Police discovered the boy with only two thumbs and part of a pinkie finger remaining.
The Waldos told detectives they were at home asleep in separate rooms that morning, and were awakened by the child’s screams.
But an investigation into the incident revealed that the parents were not at home when the attack occurred, though they told police they were home and were awakened when the child began screaming. Police subpoenaed cellphone records to determine their whereabouts.
The couple last appeared in court at a preliminary hearing in Independence on Monday, Sept. 19.
Ambrose said that by all indications the children are OK, including the victim.
“A detective from our department mentioned recently that they’re all doing fine,” he said, though he could not say whether or not the Shriners International, which expressed an interest in helping the child, had contacted him or the guardians. The procedure involves toes being surgically removed and attached to the hands in place of fingers. The procedure is free.
The parents of a Grain Valley child who lost seven fingers in a pet ferret attack in January remain missing.
Aaron Ambrose, police chief for Grain Valley, said Monday the warrants for Ryan and Carrie Waldo, issued last week following their absence at a pretrial conference on Nov. 4, remain active.
Ambrose said police believe they’re in the Indianapolis area.
“That’s what we believe,” he said, adding that their children, three of them including the victim, live in that area.
An attorney for the couple said missing the pretrial hearing was a misunderstanding and that they haven’t left the state for Indiana, where they had moved from, according to other media reports last week.
The couple are charged with first-degree child endangerment of their 4-month-old son. They pleaded not guilty in June, and three of the other children, including the victim, have been living with a relative.
The attack occurred on Jan. 10. Police discovered the boy with only two thumbs and part of a pinkie finger remaining.
The Waldos told detectives they were at home asleep in separate rooms that morning, and were awakened by the child’s screams.
But an investigation into the incident revealed that the parents were not at home when the attack occurred, though they told police they were home and were awakened when the child began screaming. Police subpoenaed cellphone records to determine their whereabouts.
The couple last appeared in court at a preliminary hearing in Independence on Monday, Sept. 19.
Ambrose said that by all indications the children are OK, including the victim.
“A detective from our department mentioned recently that they’re all doing fine,” he said, though he could not say whether or not the Shriners International, which expressed an interest in helping the child, had contacted him or the guardians. The procedure involves toes being surgically removed and attached to the hands in place of fingers. The procedure is free.
