"Naked" South Florida mom arrested after leaving child in hot car for 6 hours: Police

South Florida mom accused of leaving 10-year-old child in hot car for 6 hours

MIAMI - A nude, Sunny Isles Beach mother was arrested on Thursday after police say she left her 10-year-old daughter inside a hot car for six hours.

When officers began questioning the girl, she said that her mom — Haynes — "instructed her to remain in the vehicle, promising to return in a few hours," but did not come back.  Miami-Dade Corrections

Pia Haynes, 40, was charged with child neglect without bodily harm, the arrest affidavit stated. She is being held on a $1,000 bond, according to court records.

Just before 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, police were called out to a child left inside of a car in a parking lot at 400 Kings Point Drive in Sunny Isles Beach, on the northeast end of Miami-Dade County.

When officers arrived, they found the girl inside a white Toyota RAV4. She was crying and confused as to why her mother left her alone for so long, fearing that she would be kidnapped because she had been there for six hours, thirsty and hungry, the affidavit said. 

When officers began questioning the girl, she said that her mom, Haynes, "instructed her to remain in the vehicle, promising to return in a few hours," but the woman never came back. The girl then gave police her home address and officers went to the nearby apartment.

According to the affidavit, when officers arrived at Haynes' apartment, she answered the door "naked" and appeared confused about their presence. When officers asked her about her daughter's whereabouts, Haynes told police that her child was "sleeping on the couch." Upon searching the apartment, no children were found, to which Haynes seemed surprised and then asked where her daughter was.

After being told that her daughter had been found "alone, scared and hungry" inside of a car for several hours, Haynes tried to explain herself but was eventually taken into custody before being sent to county jail. Sunny Isles Beach redacted her explanation from the affidavit and did not provide further details.

When CBS News Miami went out to the scene, they found a car that matched the description of Haynes' RAV4 still in the parking lot, but we could not confirm its ownership.

CBS News Miami has also reached out to the child's legal guardian to check on her condition.

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