Parenting can be overwhelming, and as much as we think we’re doing a good job, sometimes it all becomes too much to handle. Even though it’s easy for some moms to rise to the occasion, others struggle. Struggling is not a failure, but the way you choose to handle it has repercussions. One Louisiana mom is learning that the hard way. Jeanette Edmonds faces multiple charges, including abandonment, after she left her son behind multiple times in the same day. Her first two attempts failed, and thankfully, the third ended with her facing consequences. Currently, police have not released a motive for the abandonment, but it certainly sounds like a cry for help.
Just after 2 p.m. on March 1, 2026, officers from the Ponchatoula Police Department responded to a call about an abandoned child, the department noted in a news release. A person saw an 8-year-old boy be left at a laundromat.
The boy was left there by his mother, who was identified as Edmonds. The witness saw the 43-year-old driving away from the laundromat and called police.
A family member came and picked up the boy from the police department. Once he was safely with an adult, Ponchatoula officers began their search for Edmonds. As they got deeper into their investigation, detectives learned this hadn’t been the first time Edmonds tried to abandon her son that day.
First, she tried to leave him at a local cemetery. For her next attempt, she tried leaving him at a farm.
A multi-agency search was mounted for Edmonds, WWL-TV reported. Eventually, the mom was found in Harvey, Louisiana, and arrested by deputies with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. She was taken back to Ponchatoula, where she was booked on one count each of cruelty to juveniles, child desertion, and criminal abandonment.
