The mother of three-year-old Charlotte Jones, who disappeared from her home in north-west England for 29 hours at the weekend, appeared at Warrington Magistrates' Court yesterday where she was charged with abandoning her child and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Ms Michelle Jones (24), who reported her daughter's disappearance to the police on Monday, was remanded in custody until December 4th and no application for bail was made in court.
The little girl disappeared from her home in Dallam, Warrington, Cheshire, after her mother said she had left her in the front garden of their house for less than two minutes. An extensive search for Charlotte began which involved police helicopters, a specialist search-and-rescue team and civilian volunteers from a local factory. Local rivers were searched, manhole covers removed and local people were interviewed but it was another 29 hours before police, acting on information passed to the investigating team, discovered Charlotte in Gypsy Wood, three miles from her home.
The breakthrough came at about 9.30 p.m. on Tuesday evening when two police officers heard Charlotte's cries from deep in the wood and called out to her.
After being taken to hospital, where she was treated for cuts, bruises and the effects of the cold, Charlotte was released but details of her whereabouts are unknown.
The body of a woman found on Tuesday afternoon in an ornamental pond in Kensington Gardens, central London, was the 20year-old daughter of a woman raped 10 months ago, it emerged yesterday. The dead woman's nine-year-old sister was also raped.
The rapist was yesterday sentenced to five life sentences for the attacks, and a separate rape of a 17-year-old girl. William Kenealy (25), of north London, was described in court as "pure evil".
Police believe the woman's body had lain undiscovered in the pond for 10 days. Although she had been missing since she left her mother's house in Essex to visit friends on November 6th, her mother had not been overly concerned. "This was not out of character," said the police in a statement. "She would often leave home for periods of time." The death is not being treated as a murder inquiry.
At the Old Bailey yesterday, prosecutor Mr Richard Whittam announced to a stunned courtroom the 55-year-old rape victim's relationship to the body found in Kensington. The mother, a committed Christian, had been praised by the judge for a level of courage "which shows what the best of human nature can achieve".