John Jefferson
Inset: Artasia Q. Viges (St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office). Background: The area where Viges allegedly abandoned her young son and reported him kidnapped (KPLC).
A 24-year-old mother in Louisiana has been arrested for allegedly abandoning her young son on the side of the road in the middle of the night and then falsely telling authorities that the boy had been kidnapped. Artasia Q. Viges was taken into custody last week and charged with one count each of cruelty to a juvenile, child desertion, and false swearing for the purpose of violating public health or safety, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office, deputies on Nov. 5, 2024, responded to a call about the possible kidnapping of a “young child” in the area of U.S. 190 and Industrial Road in Eunice, Louisiana, which is about 80 miles east of Baton Rouge.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders made contact with Viges, who reported that “individuals in an older model truck had kidnapped her son as she was parked on the roadway attending to a deflated tire.”
But Viges’ story soon fell apart, revealing the truth behind her “grievous actions,” investigators said.
“Almost immediately upon arriving on scene, deputies learned that the unattended child was found by citizens in the parking lot of Heinen Medical Clinic with abrasion injuries to his knees,” the release states. “The child stated to officers that his mother ‘ran him over’ and left him on the side of the road. The child was transported to the nearby hospital for treatment.”
Due to the “vast disparity in statements,” from Viges and her son, detectives with the sheriff’s office Juvenile Detectives Unit were called in to take over the investigation.
“A subsequent interview with Artasia Viges revealed the awful truth; there was no kidnapping and a young child was left unattended along a major roadway and allowed to run off in the night,” the release states. “What started as a disagreement between a mother and a child became a bizarre reaction to the child having a tantrum.”
Police said that Viges pulled the car to the side of the road as her son, who was “obviously not properly restrained,” then “bailed out of the car before it came to a stop” which resulted in the boy injuring his knee.
“The mother chose to leave the child out of the car, allowing him to run off in the dark, along major roadways,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “The mother admitted to detectives that she did not attempt to go after him and ultimately lost sight of him.”
Viges is currently being held in the St. Landry Parish Jail on $200,000 bond.
Authorities emphasized that the investigation into Viges remains ongoing and urged anyone with relevant information to contact the sheriff’s office at 337-948-6516.
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