Walnut Grove woman faces charges of child endangerment
Walnut Grove resident Lisa Wilson, born in 1981, is facing charges of drug possession and child endangerment after an Aug. 15, incident at an Ozark County campground led to her arrest.
According to the probable cause statement filed by Ozark County Deputy Josh Sherman, the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department received a call at about 1:07 p.m. that afternoon from the owners of Sunburst Ranch on the North Fork of White River near Dora who reported that a woman, later identified as Wilson, was acting erratically and “tweaking out.” Bystanders said Wilson appeared to have passed out, leaving two young children unattended in extreme heat.
Sherman and fellow Ozark County Deputy Hunter Ryan were responding to the scene when they were informed that the children had “locked themselves in a bathroom without air conditioning, crying and attempting to escape their mother,” wrote Sherman.
According to the statement, when the deputies arrived at the campsite they found Wilson lying under a lifted truck. “Two juveniles…were present and appeared nervous with visible red coloring on their faces and cheeks, consistent with excessive heat exposure,” wrote Sherman. “The ambient temperature was approximately 100° with 94% humidity.” Sherman wrote that the children were escorted to Sunburst Ranch’s air conditioned store for their safety.
Sherman wrote that when he approached Wilson and asked for her name and date of birth “she required multiple attempts” to provide the information, displaying confusion and erratic behavior. “Based on my training and experience, I noted severe dental problems, irrational conversational patterns (e.g. storytelling when asked for basic information), behavioral swings and a white substance on the side of her mouth, consistent with being under the influence of a controlled substance.”
Sherman wrote that there was no discernible odor of alcohol and that Wilson admitted to prior use of methamphetamine but said she hadn’t used “in a while.”
Wilson told the officers that the truck she was under allegedly belonged to a male friend who was floating on the river. Her car, a white Nissan Murano, was at a nearby campsite.
According to Sherman, Wilson gave verbal consent to a search of her vehicle for illegal narcotics. Sherman utilized K9 Karo for a “free air sniff,” wrote Sherman. “K9 Karo displayed a change in behavior near the driver’s door, exhibiting a head hook toward the compartment area and altered breathing patterns.” Probable cause was established to search Wilson’s vehicle.
According to the probable cause statement, several things were found during the search including an Advil bottle in the driver’s compartment containing green bars identified via a pill identification tool as alprazalom, a prescription-only controlled substance and a black cell phone case with white residue that field-tested positive for methamphetamine in the open trunk hatch.
A family member arrived during the investigation to take custody of the two young children, wrote Sherman. Officers with the Children’s Division were conducting a nearby investigation and were sent to the campground to assist the deputies because of the presence of controlled substances near children. According to the probable cause statement, “Children’s Division facilitated the signing of a State of Missouri Authorization to Provide Alternative Care, placing [the children] into state custody for safe placement.”
Wilson was then arrested and transported to the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department.
Wilson was charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and two counts of first degree endangering the welfare of a child creating a substantial risk. She is scheduled to appear in Ozark County Associate Court at 9 a.m. Sept. 9.