Nedra Byrd arrested: 10-year-old boy found wandering naked and drunk, caretaker jailed

SPRING HILL, Fla - Hernando County Sheriff's deputies have arrested a caretaker on neglect charges after finding a 10-year-old boy wandering the street naked and drunk.

According to the arrest report, a woman called police when she spotted the boy with no clothes.  She brought the child inside her home and clothed him. She then walked to the home where the child was staying.  After knocking on the door, it cracked open.  The neighbor could see Nedra Byrd, 31, sleeping on the couch.

Deputies arrived at the home and also witnessed Byrd asleep, but a man was now sitting next to her looking at a phone.

Deputies asked the man if he knew where the child was.  He responded, "He should be in his room, I just checked on him before I went to the bathroom."

After checking for the boy and noticing he was missing, the man tried to wake Byrd.  It took about two minutes.

The report stated that after Byrd woke up, she was lethargic and appeared intoxicated.  The deputy could smell alcohol on her breathe.

She told the deputy while laughing, "...is not walking around naked.  He's in his room."

The deputy asked Byrd if she had been drinking and she responded, "Yeah, I'm drunk as hell" and sat back down on the couch and passed out.

The boy later told investigators that he had been drinking Christian Brother's Brandy for most of the day and was actually given four shots.  He also told the deputy that he heard a noise outside and thought it was his friend, which is why he went outside.

Results from a blood draw authorized by DCF, showed the boy had a blood alcohol level of .108.

Byrd was arrested and charged with child neglect.