Mother Arrested After Leaving 4-Year-Old Daughter at Truck Stop & Telling Cops She’s Not Hers

A mother has been accused of abandoning her young daughterand then pretending that she doesn't have a daughter at all. What she did was so chilling that prosecutors in Missouri have filed a criminal complaint against the woman, who faces charges that include child endangerment and child abandonment. If that weren't enough, the mother had allegedly left her other two children unattended while she was busy gambling at a casino in Kansas.

Woman allegedly abandoned girl at a Lowe's Travel Stop in Missouri

Kayla Marie Christensen was arrested after she left her 4-year-old daughter at a truck stop in the middle of the night on October 23, 2026, according to reports by Law & Crime and local news radio station News Talk KZRG .

The criminal complaint filed by prosecutors in Newton County, Missouri, allege that Christensen abandoned her daughter at a Love's Travel Stop, a chain that has stores typically located along highways that have various amenities for truck drivers that include parking spaces, showers, and laundry.

Officers from the Neosho Police Department investigated the incident at around 3 a.m. after receiving a report of the 4-year-old child being alone in the parking lot of the truck stop. They say Christensen intentionally abandoned her daughter and had no plans to come back for her. Fortunately, employees at the Love's Travel Stop kept the girl calm and safe before officers arrived at the location.

As if abandoning her daughter wasn't enough, Christensen has also been charged with child endangerment due to her treatment of her two sons.

Police say woman also left her sons unattended while she gambled at a casino

Police say the woman had left her daughter at the truck stop and then drove away with her two young boys in the car. They allege that Christensen did not secure her sons safely, transporting them without proper car seats or seat belt protection. Moreover, investigators say Christensen left her sons unattended while she was gambling at a casino in Wyandotte, Kansas.

Both children were allegedly placed in the vehicle next to suspected drug paraphernalia, specifically a syringe that is suspected to be intended for drug use. An arrest affidavit stated that Christensen driving under these conditions "created a substantial risk of injury not only to the children but also to other motorists and members of the public."

By the time officers located the woman and tracked Christensen down, she told them that her only children were the two boys, suggesting that the 4-year-old girl wasn't hers.

Referring to the daughter as "JV1", the affidavit said her abandonment of the child could have led to something far more serious: "As [the victim's] mother and person legally responsible for her care, [Christensen] left four-year-old JV1 with the purpose of wholly abandoning her under circumstances likely to result in serious physical injury or death, as evidenced by knowingly driving away, failing to return, and later denying that she had a daughter."

Christensen was arrested later in the day on October 23, and court documents say she was charged with one count of first-degree child abandonment and two counts of first-degree child endangerment. However, KZRG reports that she faces a longer list of charges that include second-degree child abandonment, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, three counts of child abuse and neglect, and three counts of failing to restrain a child properly.

That said, at the time of writing, there does not appear to be a record of Christensen being arrested in Wyandotte County. It is unclear when she is scheduled to appear in court and what has happened to her three children after her arrest.

It is important to note that Christensen is innocent before being proven guilty in a court of law.

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