Bladen County mother charged in drowning of 4-year-old son
The mother of a 4-year-old boy who drowned in Bladen County last month has been arrested and charged with felony child abuse.
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Teresa Denise Lauderback, of White Lake, was arrested late Thursday afternoon, posted $50,000 bond and was released.
White Lake police and fire departments and North Carolina State Parks and Recreation personnel arrived at White Lake on June 15 after getting a report that a boy had been pulled from the water.
Donicio Noe Mendez was taken to a hospital in Elizabethtown where he was pronounced dead.
Police said Lauderback told them she let the boy swim with his 11- and 13-year-old brothers while she stayed with two of her smaller children. A swimmer found the boy face down in the water.
It was not clear if Lauderback has a lawyer.
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