The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office responded to a welfare check call after a witness reported seeing something strange on October 29, 2024. A woman was allegedly walking barefoot on the side of the road with a baby, in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Concerned, the man pulled over and reportedly saw 52-year-old Anastasia Vaughn running from the scene, but he didn’t see the baby. Thankfully, he found the child in a ditch uninjured, and a search for the woman began.
According to court documents obtained by Valley News Live, police located Vaughn in a wooded area nearby a short time later. They discovered the baby was Vaughn’s grandson, but she seemed unaware of what had happened. Vaughn reportedly had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech.
She “seemed confused and said she was looking for a child but was unable to answer specific questions,” court documents state.
Police contacted the parents of the baby, who arrived on the scene a short time later. Vaughn reportedly told police she didn’t know what happened and did not say how much alcohol she had consumed. A breath test showed an alcohol concentration of .229.
According to Valley News Live, a judge recently sentenced Vaughn to 45 days in jail. She will serve that time through 492 hours of community service. She also will pay a $500 fine and be on supervised probation for two years.
The news of Vaughn’s sentencing has outraged many people on the Valley News Live Facebook page in a post on June 11.
“Pfft. What in the world just happened here?” someone wrote. “This is insane that these cases are just swept under the rug.”
“Why are people constantly slapped on the hand for doing terrible things to children??? As adults, we are supposed to be protectors of the innocent,” another person agreed.
One commenter, however, claimed to know Vaughn and wrote that the grandmother felt terrible about what happened. The friend asked those criticizing her to show a bit of grace.
“I know this person (Stacey) personally. I can tell you that she is as mad at herself as you are at her. She would agree with each of you; even if something tragic could have happened to her grandchild. It didn’t thankfully,” the friend wrote on Facebook. “Stacey IS ‘paying’ for this in more ways (that are as painful as you might wish on her) than serving time in jail OR community service. I hope (as good humans; as I can see you all are; will consider in time sending a message to Stacey and her family to help lift them up from this terrible incident and encourage them to heal.”
