Missing girl in protective custody now

A 2-year-old girl who spent more than 10 hours lost in the woods near her home on Sept. 13 is now in foster care, Sheriff Eric Clark said.

“We had a hearing about the well-being of the child,” Clark said. “She was placed in a foster family. Child Protective Services has presented its side. We testified from a law enforcement side of it.”

The girl was found with her dog on the far side of a pond roughly half a mile into the woods behind her home on Road 236. This came after an extensive search that included multiple agencies and departments.

The child’s parents have been charged with felony child abuse. The parents, Tamera Chunn, 30, and Jason Reed, 48, both of Road 236, Union, were arrested and charged after the girl was found, Clark said. Both are out on bond.

They are also entering a program through the Chancery Court, officials said.

“The mother and father have been placed under some sort of improvement plan through the Chancery Court,” Clark said. “Judge Amy Taylor has been the one who has been hearing these proceedings. The courts have jurisdiction over that now. They are trying to protect the child from this point forward. If the parents improve and rehabilitate, the court will look at their efforts and coordinate a safety plan to try to get this child back with her family.”

Regardless, the criminal charges are not going away.

“We have criminal charges on them. There is nothing they can do about that,” Clark said.

The criminal case is expected to go before the next grand jury in December.