Grandma Accused Of Child Abuse After Runaway Grandson Found With Visible Injuries

A 63-year-old woman in Oakland County, Michigan, is accused of child abuse after her young grandson, whom she reported missing, was found with injuries, police said.

The elderly Orion Township resident told deputies Monday that she noticed that her 12-year-old grandson was missing from their trailer home on Canary Hill Drive and that the back door had been open when she woke up that morning, ClickOnDetroit reported, citing authorities. She claimed that the child was under her custody and that he had run away before.

Authorities searched another Canary Hill Drive address where a K-9 tracked his scent to as well as the home of the boy's biological mother in Pontiac, but they were unable to find him in both locations.

Police later received a call at around noon from a Mockingbird Lane resident, who said a boy had knocked on her door and asked for food, according to authorities. The child was then identified as the missing 12-year-old, police said.

According to police, the boy had visible injuries and claimed that he was being abused by his grandmother. He was taken to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries, officials said.

The boy and his 10-year-old sister, who was also under the custody of the grandmother, were taken away by Child Protective Services from the elderly woman following the allegations of child abuse, a report by local newspaper The Oakland Press said.

Police are still investigating the case, but the grandmother has been named a suspect, according to ClickOnDetroit.

In a similar incident, a grandmother from Hamilton County, Ohio, was accused of striking and killing her 2-year-old granddaughter nearly three months ago.

LaTonya Austin, 42, was indicted on murder in connection to the March 24 death of her granddaughter, Zaila Lee. The child's body was allegedly discovered in trash bags that were placed inside a cooler at Austin's home in Cincinnati's South Fairmount neighborhood.

Investigators said the grandmother allegedly attempted to cover up Lee's death rather than report it to authorities.

The Hamilton County Coroner's Office had ruled the girl's death a homicide as a result of blunt force trauma, and Austin was arrested on May 9.