FELLSMERE — A woman faces child neglect charges after authorities say she left two young children with a babysitter after the Fellsmere Frog Leg Festival closed for the night.
Officers got involved when the children’s babysitter said the kids’ relative had not shown up when the festival ended Saturday night. The Fellsmere Police Department arrested 28-year-old Amy Zimmer, of 81st Street, after an officer tracked her down at a local bar. Zimmer handed off a 3-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy to a 13-year-old babysitter and said she would return at 11:30 p.m. She then walked to a local bar with a friend, where she was found, authorities said.
An officer stayed with the two young children at the festival site while another tracked Zimmer to the bar. The woman became irritated when the officer told her that the festival closed at 11 p.m. and that an officer was waiting with the kids, the arrest report states.
Authorities said that Zimmer failed to make a reasonable effort to protect the kids and was therefore charged with felony child neglect.
She is being held at the county jail on $5,000 bond.
