Cassville parents charged after their toddler wandered onto Highway 76

A toddler walked out of his home, traveled roughly 50 yards, and ended up standing on the double yellow line of a busy Missouri highway.

The nearly three-year-old's parents allegedly did not realize he was gone until minutes later.

According to probable-cause statements, Skyla Marie Beck and Tyler Logan Swadley were having a party with friends and neighbors at their home near Cassville on Monday.

Swadley told investigators he was inside cooking when the child slipped through a west-facing exterior door.

The boy then made his way onto Highway 76 during heavy traffic.

A witness reported seeing him standing in the center of the roadway as vehicles in both directions came to a stop.

Beck told investigators she did not realize her son was missing for approximately six minutes. Swadley also said he had not noticed the child was gone.

A Barry County sheriff’s corporal wrote that the boy was placed in immediate danger of serious injury or death and that the incident caused a major traffic disruption.

The kid was not hurt.

Beck and Swadley are each charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

Both were booked into the Barry County jail, where bond was set at $100,000 each.

The charges are allegations. Neither defendant has been convicted.