Grandfather paid stranger $20 to watch 7-year-old while he went to bar, Sacramento sheriff says

Deputies arrested a 54-year-old grandfather on suspicion of child endangerment after he reportedly gave $20 to an unknown homeless woman to take his 7-year-old granddaughter to a thrift store on Monday while he went into a Sacramento-area bar.

The grandfather on Tuesday remained in custody at the Sacramento County Main Jail; his bail amount was set at $75,000. His arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Sacramento Superior Court.

Along with the felony child endangerment charge, he faces a misdemeanor charge of being drunk in public and a vehicle code infraction for allegedly driving with a suspended license, jail records show.

About 7:45 p.m. Monday, deputies were called to the bar’s parking lot in the 5300 block of Auburn Boulevard in the Old Foothill Farms neighborhood.

A passerby had called 911 to report the grandfather was asking people for help because his 7-year-old granddaughter had been kidnapped for human trafficking, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday in a news release.

Deputies arrived and spoke with the grandfather, who was highly intoxicated, sheriff’s officials said. He told the deputies he had given $20 to an unknown homeless woman to take his granddaughter to a nearby thrift store while he went into the bar about four hours earlier.

Deputies obtained video from a nearby security camera that captured the woman leaving with the girl.

Other sheriff’s personnel were called to search for the missing girl. A sheriff’s helicopter, aerial drones and K-9 units, were brought to the area to help with the search. About 30 minutes later, the unknown homeless woman heard the public address announcements from the helicopter and returned to the parking lot with the girl.

Deputies said the woman confirmed the grandfather had given her money to take the child to the thrift store, and that the grandfather was highly intoxicated. She told deputies that she did not think the grandfather could care for the girl.

The woman took the girl to her camp to get food, the Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies spoke with the child, who corroborated the woman’s account.

Sheriff’s officials said the granddaughter was not in distress and was medically cleared by paramedics at the scene. Deputies determined that the girl’s aunt had full custody of the child, but she had to go to work and had asked the grandfather to care for his granddaughter.

The deputies spoke with Child Protective Services officials and determined the girl could return home with her aunt. The deputies also consulted with detectives from the Sheriff’s Child Abuse Bureau, before they arrested the grandfather on the child endangerment charge.