Inset: Danielle Bryant (Walton County Jail). Background: The outlet mall where her 3-year-old was brought after she allegedly left him alone at a nearby playground (Google Maps).
A 22-year-old mother in Florida has been arrested for allegedly leaving her 3-year-old child unattended at a local playground — where he nearly ran into oncoming traffic — for over an hour while she went to work at a nearby store. Danielle Bryant was taken into custody earlier this month and charged with one count of child neglect without great bodily harm, court records show.
According to a news release from the Walton County Sheriff”s Office, a deputy was on patrol in the Silver Sands Premium Outlets at about 1:11 p.m. on Sunday, June 15, 2025, when they were approached by a “concerned citizen.” The individual reported that since at least 11:30 a.m., a young child appearing to be about 2 years old had been playing alone in the playground, which was about 150 miles west of Tallahassee.
“According to witnesses, the toddler had nearly run into traffic before a bystander intervened and pulled him to safety,” the release states. “After trying unsuccessfully to locate the child’s parent, the good Samaritan brought the boy to Silver Sands security.”
Deputies responded to the outlet mall and made contact with the security staff, where they found the little boy “safe and being cared for.”
The good Samaritan who saved the child from running into traffic was still at the scene and said he had seen the child alone at the playground from about 11:30 a.m. until the traffic incident took place about 45 minutes later.
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Deputies were able to make contact with Bryant — identified by authorities as the boy’s mother — by phone at about 1:40 p.m. and requested she come to the Silver Sands Security office, according to a probable cause affidavit. When she arrived a few minutes later, deputies noted in the affidavit that she “did not console the child or show any emotions/reactions” upon being reunited with her son.
“Bryant told deputies she had been working at a nearby store and had left her son at the playground, stating a friend was supposed to pick him up. She claimed she had been watching him through the store’s window while working,” the release states. “However, Bryant was unaware that her son had been with a bystander for approximately 45 minutes or that he had attempted to run into traffic, prompting the witness to alert security. At no point did she contact law enforcement to report her child missing.”
The affidavit clarified that Bryant worked at a “fragrance store just south of the playground.”
Investigators said that the weather at the time was 88 degrees, but the heat index was 101 degrees and the child did not have any food or water with him at the playground during the time he was alone.
Bryant is currently scheduled to appear in court on July 22.
“This could have ended much worse,” Sheriff Michael Adkinson said in a statement following the arrest. “Thanks to the good Samaritans who stepped in and the quick action by our deputies, this little boy is safe. But this kind of situation is not only dangerous, it is unacceptable.”
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