A 56-year-old Oregon Department of Human Services worker is facing a child-neglect charge after police say he forgot an 8-month-old baby inside an unlocked van in Bend. The baby was found unharmed, but the incident has renewed a grim summertime warning about checking the back seat before walking away.
According to KOIN, Kenneth Michael Anderson was coordinating a family visit in Redmond on Tuesday when he drove the baby to the Bend child welfare office. The infant reportedly fell asleep during the drive, and Anderson went inside the office after parking the van with the child still inside.
Anderson is identified as an ODHS family time coordinator, a role connected to helping maintain safe contact between children and their families. State guidance describes family time coordinators as staff who support and supervise visits intended to keep families connected while protecting children’s safety, according to the Oregon Department of Human Services.
Police said Anderson left the office in a different vehicle toward another destination, then realized roughly 30 minutes later that he had forgotten the baby. He contacted his supervisor, who found the infant in the unlocked van, provided care and took the child to St. Charles Bend for evaluation, as detailed by KOIN.
Baby Returned Without Injury After Bend Office Incident
Bend police were notified Wednesday, and Anderson was arrested Thursday on suspicion of second-degree child neglect. The baby was released without injury to her resource parents, according to the reported account of the case.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says 31 children died of heatstroke in vehicles in 2025. The agency warns that children’s body temperatures rise faster than adults’ and recommends checking the entire vehicle—especially the back seat—before locking up and walking away.
Oregon Charge Is A Class A Misdemeanor
Oregon law defines second-degree child neglect as leaving a child under 10 unattended for a period likely to endanger the child’s health or welfare, when the person acts with criminal negligence. The offense is classified as a Class A misdemeanor under Oregon Revised Statutes; the charge is an allegation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The Bend case also echoes a similar 2019 incident involving a Deschutes County prosecutor whose sleeping baby was found in a vehicle near the district attorney’s office. KTVZ reported that the child was unharmed and the Oregon attorney general ultimately declined to file charges.
Bend police’s advice is blunt because the margin for error can be dangerously small: never leave a child unattended in a vehicle for any length of time, and make the back seat part of the exit routine every time.
