Couple left 4-month-old baby unattended on a boat while they ordered shots at a bar, deputies say

MILTON, Wis. (WMTV/Gray News) — A couple is accused of leaving their 4-month-old baby unattended on a boat in the sun while they ordered shots at a bar, according to a criminal complaint.

The four-page document said a deputy from the Rock County Sheriff’s Office was called to Lakeview Bar in Milton, Wisconsin, after a group noticed an unattended baby in a car seat on a boat Sunday.

Before law enforcement made it to the bar, dispatch received several other calls that the infant’s parents were yelling, knocking things over and trying to get their baby back, the complaint said.

The deputy identified the parents as Callie Reid and Maxwell Reid. The complaint stated the deputy checked whether the child needed medical attention when he arrived at the bar. The child was being held by Maxwell Reid and appeared sweaty with wet hair matted to his head.

According to the complaint, the parents said the baby is a “very sweaty baby and always looks like that.”

The complaint said the deputy found the group that located the child and a person who called 911. The witness told deputies she arrived at Lakeview Bar in her boat and parked it on the dock, the complaint said.

The witness saw a baby in a car seat in the sun, the complaint stated. She told the deputy the baby’s arms were moving and “didn’t look right.” The witness said someone else told her the baby had been there for a while and they were keeping an eye on him.

In the document, the witness told the bar owner and someone called law enforcement. The baby was brought inside the bar by a staff member. The witness showed the deputy photos of the 4-month-old in direct sunlight, and he appeared to be turning red.

The complaint said two staff members told the Rock County deputy that the parents ordered drinks at the outdoor bar, including shots of Jameson and mixed drinks. Twenty-five minutes later, the couple began a tab at a beach table. Staff could not remember if the baby was with the couple at the beach table.

An officer with the Edgerton Police Department spoke with a patron who said she was sitting on the beach near the bar when she saw a man carry a car seat onto a boat at a nearby dock. In the complaint, the patron said the man left the boat and went back to the table at the bar.

The patron told police she was leaving in her boat when she saw the baby on the boat unattended and without a life jacket, the complaint said. She estimated the baby was alone for 45 minutes and did not see anyone check on the child, the complaint said.

The complaint said a staff member told the Edgerton officer that a customer had told her they had seen a baby unattended and called police. The staff member is a nurse and went to the boat and brought the baby inside the bar. In the complaint, the staff member said the baby was dripping sweat and had a “taillight red” face.

Shortly after, the parents allegedly came into the bar and started screaming at her for “kidnapping” their baby.

The deputy reviewed surveillance footage from Lakeview and spoke to Callie and Maxwell Reid. According to the complaint, the couple left the baby in the boat because they felt the music was too loud for him and that the baby needed a nap.

The family said the car seat had a visor so the baby was not in the sun and they felt they could see and hear the baby to ensure his safety, the complaint explained. The couple said the baby was on the boat for 30 minutes and admitted the baby did not have a life jacket. The complaint said the parents also admitted to having two drinks on the beach.

Callie Reid declined to take a breathalyzer test, but Maxwell Reid took one, the deputy said in the complaint. The deputy said the boat was at the end of a 100- to 150-foot dock and the table they were at was almost 60 feet away. It was 78 degrees and the humidity was 73% on Sunday.

According to online court records, they had their bond set at $1,000 each on Monday. They bailed out of the Rock County jail. The judge ordered them to be sober and is not allowing them contact with their child unless approved by Child Protective Services.