Mom charged after 4-year-old found driving go-kart alone on busy Pahrump road

A mother is facing child neglect charges after she reportedly told officers she was just “relaxing” on a sunny Friday afternoon while her 4-year-old was tooling around the neighborhood streets in his go-kart.

Nye County Sheriff’s Deputy Breanna Nelson was dispatched to the intersection of Barney Road and Prospector Lane on the afternoon of April 14 after authorities received a call that a child was riding a go-kart there alone, according to a Nye County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.

Upon arriving, she found the child wearing no shoes and no shirt at the intersection of Barney and Retread roads, a bit away from where his go-kart was found near Prospector Lane and more than a mile from his home.

“His hands and feet were covered in dirt and he had bruises covering both legs,” according to the deputy’s report.

The report went on to state that a Division of Child and Family Services official was called to the scene.

“She drove around the area in an attempt to locate his residence,” Nelson’s said in the report. “The juvenile eventually pointed out [his] residence to her.”

The child’s mother, Maya Rowe, reportedly met the DCFS official in the driveway of the home.

“Maya seemed very nonchalant and unbothered that the child was being returned by DCFS and deputies,” according to the NCSO report.

Rowe also had a 3-year-old boy with her, the report said.

When asked if she knew her child was missing, Rowe reportedly told the deputy she realized about 20 minutes earlier and had been searching for him. When asked why it took that long to realize the boy was missing, Rowe reportedly told the deputy she was relaxing with another individual. After consenting to a walk-through inspection of the home, Nelson’s report noted that the conditions were not safe for children.

“There were extension cords and wires all over the floor, along with trash,” the report stated. “There was moldy food left in areas that both children could get to. Both slept on a thin mattress on the floor. The room was filled with trash and moldy food as well.”

Nelson’s report also noted the time and distance the child was away from his home.

“The time of the service call came in at 4:42 p.m., and we arrived at the residence at 5:35,” she said. “The juvenile was located approximately 1.2 miles away from his residence on a main road that is traveled frequently by vehicles at a high rate of speed.”

Following the initial investigation, Rowe was found to allegedly be in violation of Nevada Revised Statute 200.508, that being child neglect, by allegedly allowing both children to live in an environment where they may suffer physical pain or mental suffering. Rowe was also found in violation of child neglect laws by being unaware of the juvenile’s whereabouts for almost one hour.

Rowe was placed in custody and transported to the Nye County Detention Center.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes