Mom arrested after 6-year-old special needs child drowns in Toledo Bend Lake

27-year-old Bethany N Stocking of Many

Many, La- Yesterday evening, just before 6 pm, Sabine Parish Dispatch received a call from a young mother saying that her child fell into the lake at a residence on Dogwood Drive West of Many.

The child's mother stated in her call that she pulled the girl from the water and had begun CPR.

Sabine Parish Sheriff Mitchell said in a statement that it appears the special needs child was left unattended and walked a very short distance from the house to the lake when she fell in.

Sheriff Mitchell said that the girl was later pronounced deceased at Sabine Medical Center.

The mother, 27-year-old Bethany N Stocking of Many, was arrested and booked into the Sabine Parish Women's Jail. She was charged with: 1-count of Cruelty to Juveniles which is a felony.

No bond has been set at this time.

Sheriff Mitchell said that Stocking was on probation from a prior arrest in 2023 where she pleaded guilty to Cruelty to Juveniles and DWI w/Child Endangerment.

No additional information is available at this time, but we will update our readers as information becomes available.