Sheriff Aaron Mitchell sadly reports a six-year-old female drowned in Toledo Bend Lake on May 19. Sabine Parish Sheriff Dispatch received a 911 call shortly before 6 pm that a child had just been pulled from the lake. The scene was a residence on Dogwood Drive which is off Sportsmans Paradise Road, off of LA Highway 6 West of Many. This would be in the Lanan Bay cove of Toledo Bend Lake. The child was later pronounced deceased at Sabine Medical Center.

The investigation revealed the six-year-old is a special needs child. It appears the child was left unattended and she walked a very short distance from the house to the lake. The mother pulled the child from the lake and began CPR.

Later last night, the mother, Bethany N Stocking (age-27) of Many, was arrested and booked into the Sabine Parish Women’s Jail.

Stocking was charged with:
1-count of Cruelty to Juveniles (Felony).
No bond has been set at this time.

Stocking was on probation from an arrest in 2023 where she pled guilty for cruelty to juveniles and DWI w/child endangerment.

This case remains under investigation and no other details will be released at this time.