Parents investigated after baby found alone in casino hotel

Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2000 | 11:34 a.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PRIOR LAKE, Minn. -- Parents of a 4-month-old baby face possible child endangerment charges for leaving their child alone at a casino hotel for several hours.

A housekeeper at the Mystic Lake Casino complex found the baby Sunday morning and took the child to hotel security.

The parents returned 2 hours later. The mother said she had been looking in the casino for the father so they could check out of the hotel, said Prior Lake Police Officer Rich Evans, who was waiting for them when they returned.

"They're giving conflicting statements right now, and that's what we're trying to figure out," Police Chief Bill O'Rourke said Monday. He said another version is that "they didn't want to leave a machine because it was hot."

A nearby child-care center for casino patrons, Playworks, accepts babies as young as 6 weeks old for $5 an hour and had openings that morning, WCCO-TV reported.

The Prior Lake city attorney's office and Ramsey County human services are investigating.

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