Editor’s note: The following story contained incorrect information provided by the Natchez Police Department regarding who contacted the Department of Human Services about an alleged instance of child abuse. A cousin of the woman charged with child abuse filed the complaint.  We regret the error, and we are happy to set the record straight.

NATCHEZ — A Natchez woman is in jail for allegedly burning her 1-year-old son.

Police arrested Monday Sandra Reed, 29, 601 Old Washington Road, on a charge of child abuse.

Natchez Police Capt. Scott Frye said Reed originally called police at approximately 2:44 p.m. Monday, when she alleged that her son had been kidnapped.

After further investigation, police discovered Reed’s cousin had taken the baby to the Mississippi Department of Human Services (DHS), where the father filed a complaint against Reed for child abuse, Frye said.

Frye said DHS contacted police about the situation and a DHS worker reportedly told police the baby had suffered “severe burns” along his back and legs.

After DHS received the complaint, the baby was taken to Merit Health to be evaluated by a physician. Frye said the cause of the burn wounds could have been caused by a curling iron or something similar, though he was not certain.

Frye said the baby has been released from the hospital to the child’s godmother.

Police reported they were told that Reed did more than just burn the baby, going so far as to rub the baby’s face in the baby’s own feces. Police were also told Reed had justified her actions by saying “if (the baby) wants to act like a dog, I will treat him like one.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, Reed was being held in the Natchez city jail with no bond set.