SoCal toddler found wandering barefoot on railroad tracks; parents arrested

Two parents have been arrested after police found their toddler wandering alone on the overpass of a railroad in Needles.

Around 6 a.m. Sunday morning, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department responded to a report of the 2-year-old at L and Broadway streets. They found the child alone, wearing no shoes and roaming along the track, according to a release from the Sheriff’s Department Colorado River station.

Authorities said that the child’s parents, identified as Bradley Underwood, 48, and Sara Estrada, 30, then arrived at the scene. The railroad runs alongside the family’s neighborhood, the department said.

The couple were intoxicated from a “central nervous system stimulant,” authorities said. Evidence was gathered at the couple’s home nearby, and they were both arrested on suspicion of child abuse and taken to the sheriff’s Colorado River station jail. Underwood also faces a potential charge of violating post-release community supervision and was held with no bail. They both await court hearings, with Estrada’s bail set at $50,000, authorities said.

The toddler was taken to the station, where Child and Family Services later assumed custody of her, the release said.

The department advised those with more information on the case to call Deputy B. Moore at (760) 326-9200 or to submit an anonymous tip at WeTip.