Photo: Stock Image
Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to a possible domestic violence call off of Main Street shortly after 1PM on November 22nd. Upon their arrival, they discovered that the couple involved had already fled the scene with a small child.
They were seen on foot, moving toward the Mendocino Headlands, and deputies began to search the area using a description of the couple.
A nearby resident alerted Deputies to the discovery of a 4 year old girl, believed to the the child from the earlier incident. When Deputies arrived they confirmed it was the missing child. She was found behind the Mendocino Presbyterian Church. The resident stated to deputies that he was approached by the couple who then asked him to watch their child.
A short time after locating the little girl, Deputies discovered the couple behind a church in the Mendocino Highlands State Park. The couple was determined to be Flash Blanton and Amanda Dearth. Dearth was determined to be the child’s mother.
After talking to the couple, the Deputies determined that no domestic violence had occurred, however they were now concerned with investigating the safety and welfare of the little girl.
When Dearth was asked if she knew where her daughter was, she stated that she did not know. Deputies determined that Dearth was inebriated to the extreme that she could not care for the safety of her child. Deputies also discovered that Blanton was a registered sex offender who was out of compliance with his registration on the sex offender registry.
Both Dearth and Blanton were arrested on suspicion of Child Endangerment. Blanton was also arrested for Failure to Register as a Transient Sex Offender. The couple was booked into the Mendocino County Jail and held on separate bonds of $25,000 each.
The little girl was placed into the custody of Mendocino County Child Protective Services.
