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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Police say a 7-year-old girl walked a quarter of a mile from her Hickory Hill apartment complex in the middle of the night when she woke up and couldn’t find her mother.

MPD said just after midnight Tuesday, a child with a photograph approached officers working a traffic stop near Knight Arnold and Hickory Hill and asked them if they knew where her mother was.

Officers were working a traffic stop near Knight Arnold & Hickory Hill when they were approached by a child

The little girl said her mother put her to bed at 7 p.m. Monday, but when she woke up, her mom was not in their apartment.

When the officer got to the apartment in the 5900 block of Hickory Hill Square, they said the front door was open, and nobody was inside.

They were able to contact the child’s father and said just before 2:30 a.m., the mother drove up to the apartment.

Police said the 7-year-old mother was not at her apartment inside the Emerald Park Townhomes

They said Kandace Bryant, 32, was laughing about the situation and told officers that she was just down the street.

The girl’s father told police he is separated from Bryant, and she has custody of the child.

Bryant was charged with child abuse and neglect. She is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

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