MUNCIE, Ind. — A Muncie grandfather was arrested for neglect of a dependent after his 3-year-old granddaughter was attacked by a dog after wandering away from his home.
On June 18, Muncie officers were called to the 1900 block of South High Street for a 3-year-old that was bit by a dog and needing stitches to her chest.
A woman told police she had spotted the girl wandering in only a diaper about 15 to 20 minutes before and told the girl to go home. She said she saw the girl walk to a nearby home and start playing on a swing set.
The woman told police she was asking other neighbors if they knew where the girl lived when she heard a dog barking and then saw a dog knock the girl down and "attacked her."
The woman said her boyfriend was able to drag the girl away from the dog, pick her up and get away. They then called 911.
According to court documents, police were then able to find Donald J. Bradford 17 minutes after the 911 call. Officers said Bradford had not even left his house to look for the girl and told officers, "I was in the bathroom, I come out and she's gone."
The girl's mother told police she had left her daughter with Bradford for about 20 to 30 minutes and the girl was in a high chair eating when she left.
Bradford at first told police he thought the girl's mother had taken the girl with her when she left, but court documents say he later admitted that he was babysitting the girl. He allegedly said he left the girl upstairs watching TV while he went downstairs to use the bathroom. He told investigators when he came out, the side door was open and the girl was missing.
At the time of this article's publishing, Bradford had not been formally charged.
