EUNICE - A mother's false kidnapping complaint resulted in her arrest after the child was found in a parking lot and the mother allegedly admitted to leaving the child on the side of the road, officials say.

According to the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a kidnapping call around 1 a.m. on Nov. 5 along U.S. Highway 190 and Industrial Road. The mother, Artaisa Quantaya Viges, reported that individuals in an older model truck kidnapped her son as she was parked on the roadway attending to a deflated tire.

Shortly after arriving on scene, deputies learned an unattended child was found at the parking lot of Heinen Medical Clinic with abrasion injuries to his knees. The child told officers that his mother "ran him over" and left him on the side of the road. The child was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Deputies say Viges admitted in an interview that there was no kidnapping and the child was left unattended along U.S. 190. The child and Viges got in to a disagreement, resulting in a tantrum. As the mother pulled the car over, the child bailed out of the car before it stopped, resulting in the injuries to the child's knees.

Viges allegedly chose to leave the child out of the car allowed him to run off in the dark. Deputies say she admitted she did not attempt to go after him.

Image credit to St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office.