A Mountain Grove woman is facing a felony charge after police rescued her infant from a locked vehicle outside Walmart on August 3, according to a probable cause statement filed in Wright County Circuit Court.
Master Patrolman Brandon Meacham reported finding the child crying, red‑cheeked, and strapped in a car seat inside a non‑running vehicle with the windows up. Officers broke a window to reach the infant, who was evaluated by Mercy EMS and found to have a heat rash and a temperature of 98.3 degrees. “I observed an infant in a car seat… crying and red in the cheeks,” Meacham wrote in the report.
Investigators say the child’s mother, Hayley Paul, left the infant in the vehicle for about 12 minutes before officers intervened. Paul allegedly told police she forgot the child was inside. “Paul admitted that she forgot her child was in the vehicle when she went into the store,” the statement reads.
Paul is charged with child abuse/neglect resulting in physical injury The case was filed on August 4.
