North Carolina Parents On The Run After Allegedly Abusing And Abandoning 4-Month-Old Son

Brandon Augustine, 24, and Mildred Chestnut, 23, are on the run after leaving their child at the hospital with severe, life-altering injuries. Now, the police are asking for the public’s help to find the couple.

May 02, 2023
Brandon Augustine [left] is 5'8" and 160 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. Mildred Chestnut [right] is 5'6" and 150 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

Brandon Augustine, 24, and Mildred Chestnut, 23, are on the run after leaving their child at the hospital with severe, life-altering injuries. Now, the police are asking for the public’s help to find the couple.

Photo by: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department

By: Robin Raven

Brandon Augustine, 24, and Mildred Chestnut, 23, are parents on the run after allegedly abusing their 4-month-old son and abandoning him at a hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police are asking for the public’s help in finding them, reported WCCB Charlotte.

Police have launched a fugitive investigation to look for the missing parents. They have been charged with felony intentional child abuse, and the CMPD has warrants for their arrest. The four-month-old boy is suffering from severe and life-altering injuries, according to authorities, but he is now in a safe place.

Augustine and Chestnut brought the baby into the hospital on March 20, 2023. They said he was injured in a minor car crash, but it was soon determined that the baby’s injuries were from abuse. A warrant was issued for the couple on March 21, but the couple went missing before it could be served, reported WBTV.

Dianne Augustine, Brandon’s mother, reported the couple missing in March. She didn’t know at the time that there was a warrant out for their arrest, and she told WBTV that she was in shock to learn about the charges against the couple.

According to the Charlotte Observer, the couple’s car was found on March 21 in Austell, Georgia. It was “obviously abandoned and intentionally hidden”, said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Major Luke Sell.

Sell shared that police think the couple has been receiving help with money, shelter, and rides. He said that anybody who is helping them hide from the police could face criminal charges such as aiding and abetting a criminal and/or accessory after the fact to a felony.

“It’s time to do right by your child. We’re just asking them to come do the right thing, turn themselves in,” Sell said.

If you have any information about the couple’s whereabouts, or this case, authorities ask that you contact the Charlotte Crime Stoppers online or call 704-334-1600. Your tip can be completely anonymous.

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