Arrest made after 2 toddlers found abandoned at Bay Shore mall

ByJennifer Matarese WABC logo

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Day care worker charged with child abandonment

Kristin Thorne has details of a worker accused of leaving two children at a Long Island mall.

BAY SHORE, N.Y. (WABC) -- Police have found the parents of two children who were abandoned at Westfield South Shore Mall in Bay Shore and arrested the caretaker who left them there.

Nicole Noble, 34, who works at an aide from Elite Christian Daycare in Brooklyn, is now charged with two counts of abandonment of a child and two counts of endangerment of a child.

Suffolk County police say Noble took the children, 2-year-old Tyler and 3-year-old Abigail, to the mall. Then, she allegedly left them there and drove back to her home in Brooklyn.

They were found around 2 p.m. Wednesday playing alone at the south end near JC Penny and Panera Bread.

"There is a video that captures the two children exiting the Macy's store with no adult next to them," Detective Lieutenant Darrel Simmons said.

The girl, whose name may be Abby, is described as black and was wearing a blue and purple Dora the Explorer knit hat, a black Nike jacket with pink lining, blue jeans and tan-color

The boy, whose name may be Tyler, is described as black and was wearing a red knit cap, a dark-colored jacket with a Montreal patch on the left sleeve.

Noble referred Eyewitness News to her attorney regarding the allegations.

"She's entered a plea of not guilty, and at this point, I can't comment any further on the case," defense attorney John Halton said.

Noble's mother owns the day care and has since the 1990s, and prosecutors say she left the two children with Noble because she had something to do. When she arrived home, Noble and the kids were missing.

Noble's brother was also in court when she went before a judge. He thinks something happened to her.

"I think she had a mental breakdown," he said.

Abigail and Tyler were not injured during the ordeal. Police kept them at the precinct for several hours until they were turned over to Child Protective Services.

"They were sitting at the table coloring books," Simmons said. "The officers in the precinct gave them some candy and some food. They looked like they were in good health and in good spirits."

The children were returned to their respective parents Thursday. Eyewitness News asked CPS about the delay, but officials wouldn't comment specifically on why it took so long to return them.