BRUSHFORK, WV (LOOTPRESS) — A Mercer County investigation led to the arrest of a local woman after her six-year-old daughter was found outside an apartment complex early Monday morning wearing only underwear in near-freezing temperatures.
According to investigators, deputies were dispatched at 12:59 a.m. on January 13, 2026, to the Edgewood Apartments on Denver Street after a report that a young child was alone outside.
A resident told authorities he discovered the child crying outside a neighboring apartment shortly after arriving home. The girl asked him if he knew where her father was. The resident said he attempted to help locate an adult by briefly entering the child’s apartment with her but found no one inside.
Concerned for her safety, the resident asked the child to put on clothes and brought her to his apartment while contacting Mercer County 911. He also notified the property’s landlord, who later escorted the child to her own apartment to wait for law enforcement.
After speaking with both witnesses, deputies contacted Child Protective Services and requested an on-call worker to respond.
Before CPS arrived, the child’s mother, Kimberly Defibaugh, came to the scene and agreed to speak with deputies. Defibaugh admitted she had left her daughter alone in the apartment while she drove to her workplace, ResCare on Old Bluefield Road in Princeton, to turn in paperwork. She stated she believed the child was asleep and said she was gone for approximately 20 to 30 minutes.
Investigators noted the distance between the apartment complex and the workplace is roughly 13 miles, or about a 20-minute drive. At the time the child was found outside, the temperature was approximately 18 degrees.
Defibaugh acknowledged leaving her six-year-old child unattended and was taken into custody. She was transported to the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department for processing and later moved to Southern Regional Jail, where she is being held pending arraignment.
She has been formally charged in connection with child endangerment, and the investigation remains ongoing.
