According to Pulaski County Sheriff Greg Speck, Deputies were dispatched at approximately 12:45 PM to reports of a toddler walking in the roadway near the intersection of Grundy Road and Kuhnapfel Road in the eastern portion of Pulaski County.

Upon arrival in the area, Deputy Scott West located a female Caucasian toddler barefooted and clothed in only a diaper with no apparent injuries.  She had been observed walking down the middle of the highway by Mr. Eric Bradshaw who was mowing his yard on Grundy Road.

Deputies Scott West and Anthony McCollum, along with 4th District Constable Gary Baldock, began an immediate search of the area to locate the parents or caregiver of the child.  After officers searched house to house for two hours, Deputy West made contact with the toddler's father, James Tyler Neal. Mr. Neal had been contacted by the child's mother by phone and had begun a search of his residence when he realized the child was not there.  He then left the residence and came upon the Deputies and identified himself as the father.

The toddler was taken into protective custody by Deputy West and was transported to the Department of Community Based Services for evaluation.

Deputy Scott West subsequently arrested James Tyler Neal, age 22, of Bolton Court, Somerset, Kentucky on a charge of Criminal Abuse, 2nd Degree (Child Under 12).  He was lodged in the Pulaski County Detention Center without incident.

This case remains under investigation by the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office and the Department for Community Based Services.