‘Missing’ woman found, left 4-month-old baby alone, Madera County cops say

A 29-year-old mother reported missing Thursday has been found alive — and now faces child endangerment charges for voluntarily leaving her child unattended Friday night, Madera County Sheriff’s Office deputies say.

Yesenia Toledo was last seen at her home on North Lake Street and classified as “at risk.” Her boyfriend reported her missing after he left the home with one of their children for a brief period of time and returned to find their 4-month-old child alone, according to a news release.

Detectives located Toledo around 11:30 p.m. Friday at a residence in the 1300 block of Concord Avenue in Madera after receiving information about her whereabouts.

Based on evidence gathered, authorities believe she wasn’t kidnapped or held against her will — and left her child alone.

Detectives served a search warrant at the residence of Toledo and her boyfriend Jamie Garcia, 27. He was arrested and booked at the Madera County Department of Corrections on charges of possession of a stolen handgun and felon in possession of a firearm.

“It’s unfortunate that neither involved party was forthcoming with accurate information in this case. Despite these roadblocks, our investigators did an outstanding job tracking down the truth,” said Sheriff Jay Varney.

This story was originally published February 16, 2019 at 5:01 PM.