Rock Hill mom left baby without food and went to birthday party, police say

Police in Rock Hill charged the mother of a baby girl with felony unlawful conduct toward a child after she left the child for hours without food to attend a birthday party for another of her children, officers said.

Shannon Nicole Ward, 31, left the infant with a “life coach” Saturday afternoon at the non-profit Pilgrims’ Inn shelter for women, police said.

She left the child without baby wipes or formula, and was gone for more than three hours, a Rock Hill Police Department incident report shows.

The baby girl is around 6 months old, police said.

Five officers, including a shift supervisor, responded to the scene of the baby being left by Ward, police said.

Police were notified around 2 p.m. by a person at the shelter, who told officers that Ward left the baby with her, but that she could not make contact with Ward, the report states.

The person at the shelter told officers she purchased formula for the baby because the baby had none, police said,

When reached by police by telephone Saturday afternoon, Ward told officers she “was not going to disappoint one child” for another, according to the report filed by officers.

When officers told Ward on the telephone that she had to return immediately to pick up her baby, Ward became irate and hung up, police reported.

Police called the S.C. Department of Social Services. DSS agents took the baby into emergency protective custody, according to police.

Around 5:10 p.m., Ward returned to the shelter and was arrested for unlawful conduct toward the baby, police said.

Ward remains in custody at the York County jail under a $7,500 bond, police and jail records show.

This story was originally published July 30, 2018 at 9:34 AM with the headline "Rock Hill mom left baby without food and went to birthday party, police say."