Kendra Meaker, 19 yr old Teen Mom, Charged In Infant Dumping/Update: 1.11.13 Meaker pleads guilty to charge of obstructing justice and endangering the life of a child

Illinois authorities arrested a 19-year-old woman after she allegedly admitted to dumping her 3-week-old daughter in a remote area.

Kendra Meaker, of Toulon, a city located about 30 miles northwest of Peoria, was charged in Stark County Circuit Court on Friday, with obstruction of justice and endangering the life or health of a child. Meaker, who also has an 11-month-old daughter, is being held on a $10,000 bond.

Meaker came to the attention of police on Sept. 27, when she reported someone had abducted her baby from the back seat of her car while she was mailing a package at a local post office. Illinois State Police immediately issued an Amber Alert for the missing toddler.

According to Stark County Sheriff Jimmie Dison, investigators were suspicious of Meaker's story.

"I didn't believe her," Dison said in Stark County Circuit Court Friday.

When the FBI joined the search they questioned Meaker and she allegedly admitted she had abandoned her infant daughter along a rural roadside outside of town.

At 8 p.m., nearly 12 hours after the infant was placed alongside the road, a pair of search volunteers found the baby. She was alive and crying when they located her. The infant was transported to a local hospital for medical attention and is reportedly doing well.


Meaker said nothing about her alleged actions during her first court appearance Friday. Following the hearing, the young woman's aunt, Sandy Hollingsworth read from a brief statement.

"This has been a hellish 24 hours that our family has endured," Hollingsworth said.

Meaker's next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 12. If convicted on all counts, she faces up to four year's imprisonment.
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A 19-year-old mother has been charged with dumping her 3-week-old daughter along a rural road for 12 hours and lying to police about the baby's whereabouts, prompting an Amber Alert.
Bond was set at $100,000 Friday for Kendra Meaker of Toulon, who was charged in Stark County Court with obstruction of justice and endangering the life or health of a child.
Meaker told a judge during a Friday court appearance that she had no job and no income, and said nothing else.
During the hearing, Sheriff Jimmie Dison told the court Kendra that showed up at his department Thursday morning to report that someone had snatched her 3-week-old baby, Mia Graci Thompson, out of the back seat of her car after she went inside the post office in Toulon, about 30 miles northwest of Peoria, to mail a package.
Illinois State Police issued an Amber Alert on Thursday morning.
Meaker, who also has an 11-month-old daughter, eventually changed her story and told Illinois State Police and FBI investigators she left the baby on a roadside, Sheriff Jimmie Dison said. The baby was on the gravel roadside from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday as scores of police and volunteers searched for her.
The two volunteer searchers who found the crying child and brought her to emergency workers.
Two volunteer searchers, Russell and Mary Jo Van Dran, said they heard a baby crying as they sat inside their truck and found the child in a culvert just off a gravel road outside Toulon.
"My wife was out of the truck like a shot, cut down there and we had a heck of a time getting the baby out of the grass. She had her fingers interwoven in the grass," Russell Van Dran told NBC station WEEK of Peoria, Ill. "We were just at the right place at the right time. God had a hand in this thing too."
Meaker's aunt, Sandy Hollingsworth of Marseilles, is acting as spokeswoman for Meaker's family.
"This has been a hellish 24 hours that our family has endured," Hollingsworth said.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services said the baby was being cared for at a hospital. Meaker's 11-month-old daughter was with relatives.
A telephone listing for Meaker was disconnected. Meaker is next due in court Oct. 12.
Under Illinois' Safe Haven law, parents are allowed to relinquish custody of an unharmed newborn up to 30 days old to personnel at a hospital, emergency medical care facility, police or fire station.
Parents can give up their child anonymously and without the threat of prosecution for abandonment.
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TOULON —
An infant missing all day was found alive along a rural creek Thursday, and her mother faces criminal charges in the disappearance.

Mia Graci Thompson, 3 weeks old, was reported missing in an Amber Alert on Thursday morning after reportedly being snatched from her mother's car at the Toulon post office. She was found by a pair of volunteer searchers who had pulled off a rural road outside Toulon, said Stark County Sheriff Jimmie Dison. The baby will be all right, said the sheriff, who declined to discuss her condition further.

Kendra Meaker, 19, of Toulon has been arrested and faces charges related to the disappearance, Dison said. However, he would not discuss those charges.

Mia's sister, 11-month-old Mercedes, also was in the car. However, she was untouched. Meaker told police that she drove away from the post office and did not notice Mia was missing until later, Dison said.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is involved in the investigation.

"I imagine the other child will be taken (by DCFS)," the sheriff said.

The father of Mia is Timothy Thompson of Toulon, the Stark County seat and about 35 miles northwest of Peoria. The sheriff did not know if Thompson is related to Mercedes.

The disappearance triggered international attention. The Toulon community, including Meaker's kin, petitioned news media and social media for help in finding Mia.

Volunteers combed the area all day. Thursday night, Russ and Mary Van Dran of Toulon drove along a rural route outside Toulon; the sheriff would not pinpoint the site. However, he said the couple parked the car near a creek.

"As soon as they got out, they heard the baby crying," the sheriff said.

The sheriff, whose investigation has been aided by Illinois State Police, declined to discuss possibilities as to how the infant ended up abandoned at that site.

The Amber Alert described a suspect as being involved, driving a gold or tan Buick or Pontiac. No license plate information was released.

The suspect was described as a white female, with brown hair and yellow sweatpants.
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Posted on: 11:40 pm, October 4, 2012, by Jonathan Ketz,
updated on: 12:59pm, October 5, 2012

WYOMING – Tim Thompson is now speaking out about the disappearance of his three-week-old baby Mia Graci Thompson.

Thompson, 22, claims that he was at work when his girlfriend, 19-year-old Kendra Meaker, called to tell him that their baby was missing. It was a phone call he says he never thought would come.

“She says, ‘Hey, you know Mia is missing?’” Thompson recalls of the phone call with Meaker. “I thought she was just playing a practical joke on me, and then, she goes, ‘You need to get to the sheriff’s office now.’”

Thompson says he got to the Stark County Sheriff’s Office in Toulon within four minutes. He says investigators started interrogating him right away.

“I was just constantly getting questioned,” Thompson recalls. “What I was doing that day, what I was doing before. It was just a lot of questions.”

Investigators took both Thompson and Meaker outside of the sheriff’s department around 2:30 Thursday for a break from questioning. Thompson says at that time he still had no idea who might have taken his young baby.

Later on though, investigators made Meaker take a polygraph test. At that point, Thompson found out the sheriff’s department believed Meaker may have been involved in the disappearance.

“When I come to find out she actually did it, it just blew my mind,” Thompson said. “I mean I couldn’t even imagine that she did it. I mean she was fine with the kids. She loved them.”

Investigators found Mia Graci Thompson off an old county road near Highway 17 around 7:00 p.m. Thursday, September 27th. Mia was still alive and taken to a Peoria hospital.

At about 8:40 that night, Stark County Sheriff Jimmie Dison announced they had arrested young Meaker. Now, Thompson is still upset with the situation, but he also has full custody of his two girls.

Thompson and Meaker’s families are still talking to one another. Meaker’s mother, Rita, was with Thompson on Thursday. They each are trying to cope after what happened last week.

Rita claims that her daughter was suffering from postpartum depression. Thompson’s friends though, have set up a Facebook group called “Justice for Mia.“ It claims that Meaker should have been charged with harsher penalties.

Meaker was charged with obstructing justice and child endangerment.

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video at above link. Must-see!

Perfect example of neglect by the mother. How does a 3 WEEK old child go missing? They can't walk or talk. I am happy the father now has custody of both children!!

By Associated Press
2:08 p.m. CDT, September 28, 2012

TOULON, Ill. (AP) — A 19-year-old Illinois mother has been charged with dumping her 3-week-old daughter along a road and lying to police about the baby's whereabouts.

The Journal-Star reports (http://bit.ly/UUxkr8) Kendra Meaker of Toulon was charged Friday with obstruction of justice and endangering the life or health of a child. Bond was set at $100,000. An Amber Alert was issued Thursday for Mia Graci Thompson. The baby was reported abducted from outside the Toulon (TUU-lahn) post office.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services says the baby was being cared for at a hospital.

A telephone listing for Meaker in Toulon was disconnected. Her aunt, Sandra Hollingworth of Marseilles (mahr-SAYLZ), says the family has endured "a hellish 24 hours."

Toulon is about 30 miles northwest of Peoria.

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A Toulon mom, accused of abandoning her three week old baby, was found tentatively fit to stand trial Friday. Kendra Meaker is accused of endangering the life of a child and lying to police after her newborn, Mia Gracie Thompson, was found in a ditch in late September. Police say Meaker first claimed her child was missing which prompted an Amber Alert. However, later that day a couple found Meaker's baby in a ditch. A Peoria doctor says, in a one paragraph summary, Meaker is competent to stand trial. However, the psychologist wasn't able to finish his full report, so Meaker's public defender asked for another two weeks to see the full report before the judge makes a final ruling on Meaker's fitness. A preliminary hearing is tentatively set for November 30th.
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Video at link

The 19 year old Toulon, Illinois woman who left her baby in a ditch has pled guilty to the crime.

Kendra Meaker made her plea Friday morning in a Stark County courtroom. She admitted her guilt on both the charge of obstructing justice and endangering the life of a child.

Meaker claimed that her baby Mia was abducted by a stranger outside the Toulon post office in September, causing a nationwide AMBER alert.

The child was later found in a ditch, unharmed.

Meaker will be sentenced on March 8th.

CBS4 was the only television station at the hearing. Tune in at 5 and 6 to hear reaction from Meaker's family.
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GOOD!! She didn't have a prayer taking this to trial. What a POS!

Setting off a false Amber Alert and leaving her newborn baby in a ditch.

Kendra Meaker is set to be sentenced today.

In court in January Kendra Meaker plead guilty to charges of obstruction of justice and endangering the life or health of a child.

This after she left her then one month old baby in a ditch.

The 19-year-old told authorities in September that someone abducted her daughter Mia outside a Toulon post office.

Officers and community members searched the Toulon area for hours, eventually finding Mia alive in a ditch.
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Thanks!! Hate to admit it but had forgotten about this horrific case!