A Port Wentworth father has been arrested and charged with reckless conduct after leaving his child locked in a car in Hinesville on Jan. 26.
Hinesville Police Officer Rickey Rice’s incident report alleges that Edward Pannell left his 3-year-old daughter unattended in a vehicle outside Anytime Fitness on E.G. Miles Parkway. An employee who parked next to the vehicle noticed a child inside and after waiting nearly an hour for the guardian to return, she called police. Officers removed the child and took her to Liberty Regional Medical Center for an evaluation. When Pannell returned, he said he’d left his daughter with a friend, but was unable to locate the friend’s number.
Pannell was arrested and charged with reckless conduct and since has bonded out. The child is with her mother.