Mother arrested after abandoning her special needs child at LaGrange home
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UPDATE: On July 30, 2025, around 2:40 p.m., Kathleen Swanton was located and taken into custody by the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office without incident. She is currently awaiting transportation to the Troup County Jail.
FIRST REPORT: The LaGrange Police Department is actively searching for a mother who reportedly abandoned her special needs child at a home on last week.
Officers responded to a welfare check at 117 Sunset Street on Monday, July 28, 2025, at approximately 5:40 PM where they had discovered that Kathleen Swanton had allegedly confined her special needs child to a bedroom and then left the home, leaving the child behind for other family members to discover.
According to police, preliminary findings indicate that Kathleen Swanton left the residence on July 25, taking her two other children with her. The special needs child was left alone in the house for several days before authorities were alerted.
The department’s Criminal Investigations Division has taken over the case and is pursuing multiple felony charges against Swanton. Arrest warrants have been issued for Cruelty to Children in the First Degree under the Family Violence Act, Abandonment, Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor, and three counts of False Imprisonment, also under the Family Violence Act.
Swanton’s current whereabouts are unknown. Police are urging the public to call 911 immediately if she is seen.
Anyone with information related to this case is encouraged to contact Detective Hackett at 706-883-2697. Tips may also be submitted anonymously through the Tip411 system by using the mobile app, visiting the online portal, or texting the keyword LAGRANGE to 847411.
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