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A Hephzibah mother reported the kidnapping of her 3-week-old son last week, but an investigation revealed she had actually asked a woman to watch the boy while she went to “smoke crack,” authorities said.

Jennifer Thompson, 29, of Hephzibah, was charged Thursday with deprivation of a minor, and the Department of Family and Children Services turned the child over to his grandmother.

The incident started last Thursday when deputies were called to Candlewood Suites on Claussen Road in reference to a kidnapping. Thompson told deputies that her 3-week-old son  had been kidnapped by his uncle after she left the child with a young lady named Sydnie. She said the child had been taken from Sydnie at Travel Lodge and whisked away in a stolen black Ford Ranger.

The suspect “could not advise any other information about the lady who she left the child with and could not advise how long she knew Sydnie,” the deputy said in his report.

Officers noticed Thompson “appeared to have dilated pupils” and she said she had taken two prescription drugs.

But deputies soon tracked down Sydnie at the Travel Lodge, and the woman had the child in safe condition. The woman told deputies that Thompson “had asked her to watch the child while she went to ‘smoke crack,’” a report says.

Thompson was then arrested for deprivation of a minor and was released on bond for the misdemeanor charge.