A Collinsville, Alabama, father is behind bars on drug charges and charges related to an unsupervised two-year-old found Saturday night alone on County Road 12 in the southern DeKalb County, according to a news release.
Sheriff's deputies "were notified at approximately 9 p.m. [CDT] of a small child alone in the roadway on County Road 12," a statement issued by department spokesman Tyler Pruett said. "Emergency Medical personnel had found the child, but was unable to locate a parent nearby."
When deputies got to the location, they checked the nearest home but no one was there, Pruett said.
"Shortly after the father of the child, Dustin Smith, 31, of Collinsville, emerged from a field nearby the home," he said. "Smith was found to be in possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and a large quantity of Xanax pills."
He was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance and also charged under the "child in need of supervision" statute, according to officials.
Dustin Smith / Photo from DeKalb County Sheriff's OfficeMore charges could be pending, Pruett said.
No bond was listed for Smith in booking records and officials at the courthouse said he had no attorney on record.
Meanwhile, the child was placed with relatives.
"This is exactly why we feel so strongly about not having narcotics around children; the two do not mix," Sheriff Nick Welden said in the release.
"This child could have been seriously hurt, killed, or abducted due to this parent's negligence," he said, praising the actions of emergency medical technicians and deputies. "If it had not been for them, this situation could have been a whole lot worse."