San Antonio mother indicted for abandoning baby who remains missing

James Chairez, 18-months-old, has not yet been found

Records show D’Lanny Chairez, 20, was booked into jail early Tuesday morning on a charge of abandoning or endangering a child. (KSAT)

SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio mother arrested last month in connection with her toddler’s disappearance was indicted by a grand jury on Tuesday, according to the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office.

D’Lanny Reaneille Chairez was charged with tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony. The 20-year-old mother was initially arrested in March on suspicion of abandoning or endangering a child.

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Initially, Chairez was reported missing along with her 18-month-old son James Avi Chairez on Jan. 4.

Police released surveillance images of the pair, as well as surveillance video clips from a drug store and from onboard a VIA Metropolitan Transit bus. In the store video, Chairez is shown pushing a stroller. However, in the bus video, there was no sign of James.

Investigators eventually tracked the mother down but did not find James with her.

An arrest affidavit revealed Chairez told investigators she didn’t feel ready to be a mother and that she thought her son “deserved better” and was considering putting him up for adoption.

The affidavit also indicated detectives searched her trailer and found a sheet for a crib that had human blood on it.

Meanwhile, the search continues for James.

“Anyone that may have seen him or believes they may have seen him, who he is with, the side of town that he’s on,” SAPD public information officer Alisia Pruneda previously said. “Even the smallest bit of information that may seem so minute or trivial to someone, call it in.”

Anyone who has information on the baby’s whereabouts is asked to call SAPD’s missing persons unit at 210-207-7660.