MERCER COUNTY, WV (LOOTPRESS) — Parents are facing charges of child neglect after a toddler was found wandering alone along Lorton Lick Road on the morning of May 14, 2025.
West Virginia State Troopers were dispatched to the area after two women spotted a very young girl near a tractor on the side of the road while driving to work. Concerned for the child’s safety, they turned around and found her standing in the roadway. The women placed the child in their car and called 911. They reported seeing a man nearby but said he made no attempt to approach them or acknowledge the child.
When Troopers Sgt. C.M. Wade, Cpl. D.R. Kincaid, and Tpr. E.C. Nunn arrived, they found the child was mostly uncommunicative and unable to provide her name or address. Troopers canvassed the area and discovered two mobile homes nearby on Shady Rest Road. At the first home, they encountered a woman, Andriella Mayhue, who said her daughter had been missing for about 30 minutes — yet had not called 911. It had already been approximately 45 minutes since the original emergency call.
Mayhue identified the child’s father as Jon Wright, later confirmed as Jonathon Heider-Wright. She told officers he was out searching for the child at the time.
CPS worker Diana Upton responded to the scene and later spoke with both parents. A temporary family care plan was established, and both children in the home were placed with relatives pending further investigation.
Based on the evidence and timeline, Troopers arrested Jonathon Heider-Wright and Andriella Mayhue on a charge of Child Neglect Creating Risk of Death or Serious Injury. The case remains under investigation.
