Parents accused of leaving infant unattended on shore while boating in New York

A man and a woman were arrested in New York's Lake George area after police said they left their child unattended while they went boating in the lake.

The father, age 30, and mother, age 28, from Pennsylvania were arrested Tuesday by the State Police of Queensbury for "endangering the welfare of a child." State Police, in a news release, said that troopers responded to reports of an "infant left unattended on the beach," shortly before 5:50 p.m. Tuesday.

A passerby had heard the child, present approximately five feet from the shoreline, crying profusely and alerted the police. An investigation determined that the infant had been left unattended for approximately 15 minutes as the parents went boating in the lake.

Infant released to custody of family member

The parents were taken into custody but were later released after they were issued appearance tickets returnable to the Lake George Town Court on June 27.

A spokesperson for the New York State Police told USA TODAY that child, who is under 1-year-old, was uninjured and was not returned to the parents. The infant, whose gender was not identified, was instead released to a family member.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X @saman_shafiq7.