Bond granted for woman accused of falsely reporting her child missing

EAST POINT, Ga. — A mother of accused of falsely reporting her child missing may have dropped her off with strangers before she called police.

Teachers at Hapeville’s day care said they found the child at their doorstep.

Teacher Shunta Hill said it began with a knock on the door Tuesday afternoon.

"There was this little girl standing here," Hill told Channel 2’s Kerry Kavanaugh.

"What did the little girl say?,” Kavanaugh asked. “My momma brought me here,” she said.

At first, teachers thought the child wandered from a nearby home.

"So I took the little girl next door and said, ‘Is this where you live baby?’ She said, ‘No,’" Hill said.

That’s when Hill called Hapeville police.

“I told the dispatcher that a little girl showed up at the day care with no parents and it looked like nobody coming back for her. And, the dispatcher said, ‘Oh my God,’” Hill said.

Meanwhile in nearby East Point, the search was underway for 3-year-old Kamile Shorter. Police said her mother reported her missing.

In court Thursday, the prosecutor said they have no idea why the Cyndie Cuffie, 28, would have taken the child to a day care she'd had never seen before. But, they believe she intentionally left her there before making the false report.

The defense attorney said Cuffie recently moved to the Atlanta area for a new job and that she was a full time medical student. They offered no explanation about the alleged actions that landed her behind bars.

The judge granted Cuffie a $5,000 bond.

Police said the child remains in state custody until a late December hearing.

WSBTV