Mom tries to sell 18-month-old for $500, Florida cops say. Then a witness steps in

A 33-year-old Florida mom is facing child cruelty charges after she tried to sell her 18-month-old daughter to a stranger, according to investigators.

It happened Tuesday, March 5, in Palatka, and the child was rescued when a passerby intervened, the Palatka Police Department said in a March 13 news release. Palatka is about a 105-mile drive north from Orlando.

A witness reports the suspect drew attention to herself by “loitering around a local business with her 18-month-old daughter” for several days, police said.

“An anonymous citizen made contact with (the woman) and asked if she and the child needed any assistance,” police said.

“(The mom) told the citizen she did not need anything but, offered to sell the child to the citizen for $500. When the citizen refused to purchase the child, (the mom) walked away, leaving her daughter behind.”

The witness “picked the child up and immediately brought her to the Palatka Police Department,” and an investigation was launched, officials said.

Staff at the business where the child was found reported the woman was known to frequent the area and a search began.

She was located on March 7 and charged “with child abuse, child neglect, and abandonment of a child,” officials said. Jail records show the suspect lives at a home on Mango Drive in Palatka.

“The child has since been placed in foster care,” police said.

This story was originally published March 13, 2024 at 1:54 PM with the headline "Mom tries to sell 18-month-old for $500, Florida cops say. Then a witness steps in."