Carson City man arrested after deputies find runaway child in abandoned mobile home | Carson city nevada news

A 45-year-old Carson City man was arrested in the Woodside Drive area on a charge of child neglect, a gross misdemeanor, after deputies found his mentally ill 16-year-old son sleeping in an abandoned trailer.

According to the arrest report, deputies responded to a property on Fairview Dr. just before 7:30 a.m. with one report of an unwanted subject. The property owner found a 16-year-old boy sleeping in an abandoned mobile home on the property.

Deputies spoke with the boy who said he ran away from home on Sept. 5 due to issues with his foster father.

No one reported the boy as a runaway, Dispatch advised.

While speaking with the boy, deputies noted that he appeared to be suffering from mental health issues, and that his face was pale and without color in his lips or cheeks.

He told the boy that he had Asperger’s syndrome as well as oppositional defiant disorder. Deputies asked if he was taking medication for his condition, and he said he had not taken any medication since November 2022.

The boy told deputies that he told his foster father on September 6 that he was going to a 10-year-old friend’s house down the street; He told deputies that he had been sleeping in the shed behind his friend’s house in the past, but since he left on September 6, he had mostly been sleeping in John Mankins’ garden.

He told deputies that because of the cold temperatures the night before, he found the abandoned house to sleep in. He told deputies the only food he ate was from school lunch.

Deputies were able to reach the adoptive father by phone, who immediately told deputies that the boy was mentally ill and confirmed that he had been out of the home since September 5.

At first, he claimed he had contact with the boy every day, but that later changed, according to deputies.

He said the property owner actually called him when he found the boy in the mobile home, and assumed the boy would be arrested.

Deputies asked if he was able to come pick up the boy, and he “seemed hesitant at first,” according to the report, and reiterated that the boy should be arrested and placed on formal probation.

However, he finally agreed to leave work and meet deputies on site. He confirmed that he adopted the child when he was two years old because of his mother’s drug addiction.

Deputies asked him how long it had been since he had spoken to the boy, where he thought he was and who he thought was taking care of him.

The man changed his story and said he had not spoken directly to the boy since September 6, but had checked with a school counselor to make sure he attended school. He said he thought he was staying at his ten-year-old friend’s house, but admitted he did not know the address, the parents or how to contact them.

Deputies asked if the boy was supposed to take medication. The man blamed the boy for not going to the doctor or taking his medication, but deputies determined the boy had no current prescriptions or medications. Deputies asked him if he was taking him to appointments to make sure he was getting proper treatment, and the man again blamed the boy, saying he had “a lot of problems” and wouldn’t go.

Deputies explained to the man that it was his responsibility to take care of the boy, and noted, “It was clear that this did not happen, and a sixteen-year-old who clearly had mental issues was to blame.”

The man eventually agreed he was wrong, deputies said, and deputies further explained the danger the boy was exposed to while living on the street, not eating and not being treated for his mental illness.

Deputies took the man into custody on a charge of child neglect and made arrangements to take the boy to school so he could be fed. Deputies also made contact with a DCFS caseworker, who said they were familiar with the man and boy.

Bail: $2,500

All crime history information (unless otherwise noted) comes from arrest reports provided by the Carson City Sheriff’s Office and is considered public information by law. All persons are innocent until proven guilty in court. It is Carson Now’s policy to name anyone arrested for a criminal offense.