Parents charged over death of toddler found drowned in canal hours after neighbor discovered her wandering the streets

• The body of Reena Mae Williams, 3, was recovered hours after a neighbour said she found the girl wandering alone from home
  
• Parents Jenna Danish and Thomas Jay Williams charged with child neglect
• Girl had been found wandering from home at least six times this year

By Nina Golgowski

PUBLISHED: 22:01 EST, 23 September 2012 | UPDATED: 23:58 EST, 23 September 2012

The parents of a three-year-old girl whose body was found in a canal just hours after recovered wandering the streets alone have been charged with felony child neglect.

Police in Dansbury, Wisconsin say the parents of Reena Mae Williams turned themselves in on Sunday, two days after a warrant was placed for their arrest in the child's death.

Jenna Danish, 33, and Thomas Jay Williams, 42, face a maximum of 25 years in prison after Reena's body was found approximately 25 yards from their home last month.

Tragedy: The parents of Reena Mae Williams, pictured, whose body was found in a canal last month, have been arrested and charged with felony child neglect

A complaint filed against the couple claims their drug use contributed to a pattern of neglect, with the girl found wandering from home at least six times this year.

In several of the incidents police say she was found a mile and a half from home.

'That was just appalling, that she could go missing and get returned, then be missing again an hour later,' Diana Naylor told KMSP.

Ms Naylor says that just two hours before a search was launched for the three-year-old she found the girl wandering 12 blocks from home.

Accused: The girl's parents Jenna Danish, 33, pictured, and Thomas Jay Williams, 42, are accused of a pattern of neglect with the girl as well as drug use in their home

Grim discovery: A search party recovered the three-year-old in this canal approximately 25 yards from her home last month

She said she returned the child to her home though no one immediately answered the door when she knocked.

She said Williams eventually entered the yard, appearing unconcerned that his daughter had been found so far from home. Police reported Danish later telling a friend she was asleep at the time.

'I was sick. I couldn't go to work the next day because all I could think about that day was "What if?" Maybe we would have called police; maybe she would have lived,' Ms Naylor told KMSP.

At the time, the mother publicly thanked those who had helped find her daughter.

Not the first: A neighbour of the child claims to have returned the girl to her parents just hours before she went missing after finding her wandering 12 blocks from home

Danger: Reena's home was later deemed too dangerous for a three-year-old with the property lacking fencing around the nearby water, pictured, she was tragically found in

Unsupervised: A filed complaint also claims the girl had been found wandering from home at least six times this year, in several of the incidents a mile and a half from home

'I just wanted to thank everybody for helping out, for the generous offers, the time that they gave,' she said according to WCCO. 'That’s it. That’s all I have to say.'

As police continued their investigation they would deem the couple's house too dangerous for a three-year-old, having found synthetic marijuana inside as well as no fencing around the yard's surrounding water and bed sheets covering the windows that looked out at the canal.

A witness also told police that he had smoked synthetic marijuana with Williams minutes before Reena disappeared.

Adding to Ms Naylor's frustration was the fact that the day after the girl’s body was found, she says she saw Danish inside a local casino drinking with friends.

'I just hope they come forward instead of running and face up to what they did,' Ms Naylor told KMSP while the warrant was still in place for the couple. 'Maybe get some help for themselves, because they obviously need it.'

An autopsy is planned for the girl's body.

'Reena loved her home on the water, her family, and the color pink,' the girl's obituary read last month for her service held in Berlin, Wisconsin.

It reads Reena being survived by three sisters.