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Mother charged with neglect for leaving child in car

A mother who left her 1-year-old daughter inside a vehicle for more than 12 hours was arrested Friday.

Diana Ruiz, 20, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on a felony child neglect charge, police said. The infant is in the custody of Child Protective Services.

According to police, Ruiz was leaving Las Vegas Wednesday night to visit a friend in Sandy Valley when her car became stuck in an embankment on a "dirt shortcut" near state Route 160 and Fort Apache Road.

Ruiz told police she locked her daughter and keys inside the car at about midnight and her cell phone would not work.

She became lost while wandering the desert, could not find her way back to the car, and at dawn on Thursday finally found a residence, the release said.

She told police she met an unknown man at the house who attempted to help her find the vehicle, police said.

After several hours of searching, Ruiz called police Thursday afternoon and officers were dispatched in search and rescue helicopters at about 3 p.m. The officers quickly found the vehicle, police said.

The infant was taken to a hospital as a precaution because of minor bruising and dehydration, but appeared unharmed, police said.

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