- A couple have been charged with
child neglect after a boy in their care overdosed oncocaine . - The 21-month-old was found unconscious and not breathing.
- It's thought the boy ingested the cocaine while in the care of the couple, inside the home.
A couple from Venice,
Deputies were called to the home of Kaitlyn Van Dorn, 33, and Blake Pavey, 35, on January 8 after the boy was reported to be unconscious and not breathing, the Sarasota County Sheriff's office said in a statement on its website.
Naloxone, designed to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, was used on the child after it was suspected that he might have consumed narcotics.
"When we get there, the female defendant who's in the home says, 'He put something in his mouth while we were on a walk, I don't know what it was,'" Sarasota County Sheriff's office community affairs director Kaitlyn Perez told Fox News.
"The area is kind of known for narcotics use, so EMF decided to deploy Naloxone three times on the little boy. And, thank God that they did because he regained full consciousness, was awake and really, really alert," Perez added.
The boy was then taken to the hospital for additional testing.
Van Dorn told deputies that the child had been picking up rocks around the neighborhood using a teal bucket, which was later found inside the home containing a silver spoon and tissue - both items consistent with the ingestion of narcotics - according to the statement from the Sheriff's office.
Perez told Fox News that it is now believed that Van Dorn lied about going for a walk with the boy and that the cocaine was ingested inside the home.
"Then, we looked through video at different houses and businesses nearby to see what time she went on the walk. Did we see where the child picked something up? None of it ever happened. She never went on a walk. We're 100% certain on that," Perez said. "So, we're confident that he ingested the cocaine inside the house at some point."
It took several months for the Sheriff's office to obtain the child's hospital records, which confirmed he had overdosed on cocaine, according to the official statement.
The child, whose relationship to the couple has not been confirmed, has not been in their care since January.
A warrant for Van Dorn and Pavey's arrests was issued on Saturday, and both were taken into custody. Pavey was released on a $15,000 bond while Van Dorn remains in custody without bond due to a Violation of Probation charge.
The Sarasota County Sheriff's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.