PICTURED: Mother arrested following manhunt after intentionally abandoning her two-year-old daughter in a grocery store

  • Chiengkham Vilaysane is suspected of leaving her daughter at a grocery store
  • The two-year-old girl was found alone at Food-4-Less in Riverside, CA on Sunday 
  • Authorities released surveillance footage of Vilaysane and she was recognized by a bank teller who called the police on Tuesday afternoon
  • Vilaysane was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment, child neglect and being under the influence of controlled substances
  • The girl is now in the care of Child Protective Services and is safe and healthy 

By Anna Hopkins For Dailymail.com

Published: 18:19 EDT, 14 March 2017 | Updated: 09:29 EDT, 15 March 2017

Chiengkham 'Cindy' Vilaysane was arrested after reportedly leaving her two-year-old daughter at a Food-4-Less in Riverdale, California intentionally on Sunday evening 

Chiengkham 'Cindy' Vilaysane was arrested after reportedly leaving her two-year-old daughter at a Food-4-Less in Riverdale, California intentionally on Sunday evening 

A mother who intentionally left her two-year-old daughter in a grocery store on Sunday has been arrested after a manhunt.

After issuing an appeal to the public, police arrested Chiengkham 'Cindy' Vilaysane, 31, who was taken into custody on suspicion of child endangerment, child neglect and being under the influence of controlled substances. 

The child wandered away from Vilaysane while they were in the Riverside store together on Sunday. 

When another shopper brought her daughter back to the her, Vilaysane said to 'just leave her', according to police.

Vilaysane then continued her shopping, checked out at the cashier's desk, and exited the store without her daughter.

The girl was found around 5pm at the Food-4-Less on Van Buren Boulevard, unharmed but alone.

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Police are searching for a California mother who intentionally left her toddler-aged daughter in a grocery store
The girl was found around 5pm at the Food-4-Less on 4250 Van Buren Boulevard in Riverdale on Sunday night, unharmed but alone

The California mother who intentionally left her toddler daughter in a grocery store has been arrested. She is seen in surveillance footage above

Surveillance footage shows the unknown mother entering the store with her child trailing behind her, but she left without her after finishing her shop

Surveillance footage shows the unknown mother entering the store with her child trailing behind her, but she left without her after finishing her shop

When police showed the toddler the surveillance video, she identified Vilaysane, in a black tank top and shorts, as 'mommy'.

On Monday, police released surveillance footage of Vilaysane in the grocery store with her daughter in an appeal to the public since her identity was still unknown.

When Vilaysane walked into a bank around 5pm on Tuesday, a teller recognized her from news reports and called the police. 

She was arrested and booked on suspicion of child endangerment, child neglect and being under the influence of controlled substances.

Social media pages of Vilaysane's list her as being 32 years old

Social media pages of Vilaysane's list her as being 32 years old

Vilaysane was once placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold, and had run-ins with the police for drug and alcohol offenses, Miranda told the LA Times. She was also recently kicked out of her family home, according to Miranda.

Vilaysane's daughter was placed in the care of Child Protective Services as of Monday evening.

Miranda told DailyMail.com: 'She is safe as we speak, and in good health other than being shaken up by what's going on.'

He said authorities 'wouldn't be where we are without the public help,' after many sprang to action after seeing the heartbreaking surveillance footage.

They have since been able to locate the girl's family members who are aiding in the investigation.

Vilaysane's social media pages list her as being 32 years old and say that her daughter's name is Danica. 

She posted a number of loving photos of the two together, but posted on March 2 that she was 'ready to leave whenever' with her 'husband to be'.

Vilaysane also has an older daughter, who lives with her father, police said.   

She posted a number of loving photos of the two together, but posted on March 2 that she was 'ready to leave whenever' with her 'husband to be'

She posted a number of loving photos of the two together, but posted on March 2 that she was 'ready to leave whenever' with her 'husband to be'

She posted a number of loving photos of the two together, but posted on March 2 that she was 'ready to leave whenever' with her 'husband to be'
Her Facebook page also lists her as a Junior Production Officer at the Department of Defense

 Her Facebook page also lists her as a junior production officer at the Department of Defense

The Riverside Police sheriff said on Twitter that they have no record of a woman with her name as working at the Riverside Police Department

The Riverside Police sheriff said on Twitter that they have no record of a woman with her name as working at the Riverside Police Department

Her Facebook page also lists her as a junior production officer at the Department of Defense. 

Press Enterprise reported that a social media account for Vilaysane listed her as working at the Riverside County Sheriff's Department as an assistant section officer. 

But the Riverside Police said on Twitter that they have no record of a woman with her name as working at the Riverside Police Department. 

When police showed the toddler the surveillance video, she identified Vilaysane, in the black tank top and shorts, as 'mommy'

When police showed the toddler the surveillance video, she identified Vilaysane, in the black tank top and shorts, as 'mommy'

The child wandered off from her mother while in the store, and at one point another shopper brought her back to the young woman, who reportedly said to 'just leave her'

The child wandered off from her mother while in the store, and at one point another shopper brought her back to the young woman, who reportedly said to 'just leave her'

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