A North Carolina woman allegedly traded her toddler daughter for a used car, police said.
A North Carolina woman allegedly traded her toddler daughter for a used car, police said.
Alice Leann Todd, 45, is accused of exchanging her child for a 1990s Plymouth, according to authorities. She made the trade with a married couple, Tina Chavis, 47, and Vicencio Romero, 53, police said.
All three were arrested Thursday by Thomasville police officers, and have been charged with felony counts of unlawful sale, surrender or purchase of a minor. Each is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail, authorities said.
Their arrests followed a two-month investigation that began when Chavis arrived at a hospital emergency room with a 2-year-old girl she said was her daughter, police said. The child was having an allergic reaction, Chavis told staff, according to police.
Medical workers called police and local children's services after seeing bruises on the toddler, authorities said.
When Chavis couldn't produce documents proving the child was hers, police said, she claimed she had adopted the baby.
Investigators learned Todd, the child's biological mother, had traded the girl last year in exchange for the vehicle, authorities said.
Police did not disclose a motive for the alleged transaction. The three are scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 21.
The girl is now with a family member, according to police.
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