Salt Lake mom arrested, accused of abandoning her 2-year-old son

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake police have arrested a woman who they say gave her 2-year-old son to a man in a car in a parking lot, then passed out and reported her son as being abducted 11 hours later when she couldn’t find him.

Chantelle Erichsen Rees, 32, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of child abandonment and child endangerment.

The incident began about 4:30 a.m. Monday when Rees went to an apartment complex near 700 South and 300 East along with her 2-year-old son.

“Chantelle stated she met the male at a gas station and had exchanged (meth) with him for gas money. Chantelle said she drove with the male to River Rock Apartments, where she left the child inside the car with the male and went inside to take a shower,” according to a police booking affidavit.

But rather than going back to the car after her shower, Rees told police “she fell asleep because she had not slept in eight days,” the affidavit states.

The 34-year-old man, who police believe had previously met Rees and was not a complete stranger, waited in front of the apartment complex for two hours before driving off, said Salt Lake police spokesman Brent Weisberg.

When Rees woke up, she could not find the man or her child. But rather than call the police, she began calling friends and acquaintances.

“Chantelle said she walked all over trying to locate the child and waited a few hours to call the police. Chantelle stated she should have known better than to leave her child with a male she had just met,” the affidavit states. “(She) reported she left her 2-year-old son in a vehicle with an unknown male while she went to use the restroom and when she came back out, they were no longer there.”

About 3:30 p.m. — nearly 11 hours after Rees left her son with the man — she called 911 to report that her boy had been kidnapped. Weisberg said police were close to issuing a missing and endangered person alert when detectives received information that the man may be in the Sugar House area.

About 8 p.m., the man’s car was located at a store, and he and the boy were found.

“The male stated he had tried to contact Chantelle via phone, but she did not answer and after a few hours, he left with the child to try and figure out what to do with him. The male stated he was not sure how to care for a child but did his best to give the child water and snacks,” the affidavit says.

The man was taken into custody for a probation violation. But Weisberg says he will not face any charges in connection with the missing child, as officers believe he did his best to care for the boy when the mother disappeared.

The boy was taken to a local hospital to be treated for dehydration and other undisclosed issues caused by long-term neglect, Weisberg said. The boy will be taken into state protective custody once he is released from the hospital.

Rees, who allegedly admitted she relapsed on drugs a few months ago, was arrested.

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Child abuse resources:

• Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465). Resources are also available online: udvc.org. The statewide child abuse and neglect hotline is 1-855-323-DCFS (3237).

Help with Children

Those who feel stressed out with a child, who need a break or who feel like they need counseling or training can reach out to one of the following agencies:

• The Family Support Center has 15 locations throughout the state and offers a free crisis nursery for parents who have to keep appointments or who are stressed out. They also offer counseling and family mentoring. Call 801-955-9110 or visit familysupportcenter.org/contact.php for more information.
• Prevent Child Abuse Utah provides home visiting in Weber, Davis, and Box Elder counties. Parent Educators provide support, education, and activities for families with young children. Their statewide education team offers diverse trainings on protective factors, digital safety, bullying, and child sex trafficking. They are available for in-person or virtual trainings and offer free online courses for the community at pcautah.org.
• The Office of Home Visiting works with local agencies to provide home visits to pregnant women and young families who would like to know more about being parents. Home visitors are trained and can provide information about breastfeeding, developmental milestones, toilet training, nutrition, mental health, home safety, child development, and much more. Find out more at homevisiting.utah.gov.
• The Safe Haven law allows birth parents in Utah to safely and anonymously give up custody of their newborn child at any hospital in the state, with no legal consequences and no questions asked. The child’s mother can drop off the child, or the mother can ask someone else to do it for her. The newborns should be dropped off at hospitals that are open 24 hours a day. Newborns given up in this manner will be cared for by the hospital staff, and the Utah Division of Child and Family Services will find a home for the child. For more information, visit utahsafehaven.org or call the 24-hour hotline at 866-458-0058.

CSAM Prevention Resources and Victim Recovery: 

• The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children provides support to children who are victims of child sexual exploitation through emotional peer support for families, content removal of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and help getting connected to therapists and attorneys. The NCMEC also provides a CyberTipline where CSAM can be reported. Visit https://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/csam-resources for more information. 
• The Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force hosts a hub of resources for parents and offers local help to cases involving child sexual exploitation. 
• RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) provides a guide of safety measures to take in order to prevent children from being targeted in CSAM cases. 
• Thorn nonprofit organization creates products and programs that combat child sexual abuse at scale. It provides resources for families to help them identify the possible ways children can be exploited online, giving them proper terminology and statistics to keep them educated. For more information, visit https://www.thorn.org/research/child-sexual-abuse-material-csam/ 

Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465). Resources are also available online: udvc.org. The statewide child abuse and neglect hotline is 1-855-323-DCFS (3237).