Toddler found safe in Pahrump community

There were some tense moments in a neighborhood near Pahrump Valley High School regarding what was believed to be a missing toddler late Monday morning.

As it turned out, the child was eventually located safe and sound, but the child’s grandmother, identified as Lori Harvey, is now facing charges, including use of a controlled substance and a probation violation.

Nye County Sheriff’s Office dispatchers received a call from Harvey, who reported her granddaughter went missing just after 11 a.m.

Harvey allegedly told dispatchers that after using the restroom in the South Galaxy home, she noticed the female child, who turns two years old next month, was not inside the residence.

Sheriff’s deputies responded to the home where they conducted the initial search for the girl, both indoors and outside the home.

Additional deputies and even neighbors on the street began scouring the immediate neighborhood in an attempt to locate the child.

Neighbor’s account

David Papadimas lives next door to Harvey.

Papadimas said he was in his bathroom shaving when he heard a knock at his front door.

“She told me that she was using the restroom when her two-year-old granddaughter went out the front door,” he recalled. “She told me that she went searching for her, but could not find her. It was very concerning when she told me. I don’t know her very well at all, and I don’t talk to them very much, but I wave to them every once in awhile. That’s about all. I moved here about five months ago from Bullhead City, Arizona.”

Under the influence

Nye County Sheriff Sharon Wehrly spoke about her conversation with Harvey after arriving on the scene.

She noted that Harvey was allegedly found to be under the influence of an intoxicating substance.

“She was just out of her mind with fear that the child was somewhere, but she didn’t know where,” Wehrly said. “She reportedly watches the child every once in awhile. Because she had her on Sunday, she thought that she had her today as well.”

Additional information sought/child located

Wehrly also noted that other family members were also contacted in an effort to gain additional information during the search.

“We learned that the child was not brought to her grandmother’s house on Monday morning at all because the child was at another residence with a babysitter, which we have confirmed. The child’s father actually took her to the babysitter.”

“As soon as we found out who the family members were, we had dispatch contact those family members for information, and that’s how we found out that the child was not at the Galaxy residence. The child’s father actually took her from his home to the babysitter’s residence. The child was never here at the Galaxy residence, and was never put in any danger of any kind.”

Following a standard field sobriety test, Harvey was taken into custody of the Nye County Detention Center.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. Follow @sharrispvt on Twitter.