VIDALIA — The parents of an infant that was left unsupervised on the hood of a car last week in Vidalia are still in jail with court hearing set for early next month.

Marcella Cooper Watson, 32, and David Lee Ramey, 33, both of West Monroe, were arrested last week after they allegedly left their 2-week-old infant on the hood of their car at the Vidalia Riverfront while they fished in the nearby Mississippi River.

The infant was eventually taken into custody by a state agency, but representatives wouldn’t disclose specifics of the infant’s condition Friday.

The parents were arrested and charged with cruelty to a juvenile and improper supervision of a juvenile.

Witnesses who called the police department state they saw the infant and heard her crying at 8 a.m. when they left the Vidalia boat ramp. The witnesses said the infant was still there and crying when they returned three hours later at 11 a.m., prompting them to call police.

Assistant District Attorney Ann Siddall said Friday her office hasn’t received full details on the case yet, but did say the parents have arraignment hearings set for next month.

Ramey will appear before a judge Sept. 17, while Watson has her hearing Sept. 24.

Siddall said the case would be assigned to a specific prosecutor in the district attorney’s office in the coming weeks.

The two West Monroe residents remained in the Concordia Parish Jail as of Friday evening, both with $5,500 bonds set.

When a VPD officer arrived at the riverfront Aug. 9, he saw Watson pick up the infant from a car seat that was on the hood of the car with no protection or cover from the sun.

Watson told the officer she had only been fishing a short time and didn’t realize the infant was so sunburned.

Ramey told the officer he hadn’t been gone for more than 15 minutes and that the infant “hasn’t been out here long,” according to the report.

Medical personnel arrived, checked the infant’s vital signs and didn’t see any signs of fever.

The infant was transported to Riverland Medical Center to be checked for sunburn and dehydration.

Representatives with the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services took custody of the infant.

Lindsey deBlieux, public information director with DCFS, said Friday that Louisiana law prevented her from discussing specific details of the case.

She did say as part of the child protection investigation or anytime a child enters state custody, each child receives initial medical screening or exams and subsequent treatment as medically warranted.

Speaking generally on standard procedures in DCFS cases, deBlieux said a judge will decide if there is sufficient evidence and grounds for removal of a child from the custody of the parents.

DCFS will then carry out the orders of the court regarding removal and placement of a child, she said.

“If a child is placed in state custody on an emergency basis, court hearings and reviews are held within 72 hours and periodically thereafter to determine the continued need for out of home placement and what actions or steps the parents would need to take to regain custody,” deBlieux said. “The case is then periodically reviewed to monitor the child’s status and parents’ progress.”

deBlieux said parents can work to meet several benchmarks, such as counseling, parenting classes or substance abuse treatment, to potentially be returned to their custody. A judge makes the final decision.

In 2013, deBlieux said 72 percent of children leaving foster care were reunited with their birth parents, primary caregivers or relatives. The median stay in foster care for children who were reunified with family was nearly seven months.