Couple charged after 3-year-old found in ferry parking lot

ROCKLAND, Maine (AP) — A Knox couple faces drug and child endangerment charges after a 3-year-old boy was found alone in a ferry terminal parking lot, police said. Paul Mahonen Jr., 43, was charged with trafficking drugs while Nicole Caven-Gardner, 32, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, Rockland Police Chief Christopher Young said Tuesday.

Police used social media and went door to door trying to find the child’s parents or guardians on April 27. They ultimately found the couple in a motel room with “a large amount” of cocaine and fentanyl, Young said.

Police took the child to an area hospital as a precaution, and the child was released to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Young said.

Caven-Gardner and Mahonen were released from the Knox County Jail. It was not known if they have an attorney.

.https://apnews.com/article/1c028833ee9b621eac296aaca4e79c91