Sumter woman arrested after newborn tests positive for meth

Sumter County deputies have charged a Sumter woman with unlawful neglect of a child after her infant child tested positive for both methamphetamine and amphetamines, officials said.

Braden Bunch, a sheriff’s office spokesman, said 23-year-old Ariel Linzy Holliday was taken into custody and transported to the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center where she is awaiting a bond hearing.

Bunch said investigators first learned of the infant’s possible exposure to the drugs after the South Carolina Department of Social Services informed the sheriff’s office that routine tests conducted by a local hospital shortly after the child’s birth showed signs of illegal drugs in the child’s bloodstream.

The child has since been placed in the custody of a relative by DSS, Bunch said.