Florida mom tried selling daughter to stranger for $500, then abandoned the baby, police say

A Florida mother is in jail after offering to sell her 18-month-old daughter to an employee of a local business for $500, and abandoning the baby once the worker refused, police say.

The 33-year-old woman is charged with aggravated child abuse, child neglect, abandonment of a child and selling or surrendering a minor for money or property, according to Putnam County court records.

The woman was loitering around the business in Palatka, a city in Florida about 55 miles from Daytona Beach, on March 5 with her young daughter, Palatka police said Wednesday in a news release. She had been hanging around the business for a few days, according to police.

An "anonymous citizen" employed at the local business began speaking to the mother that day and asked if she and her daughter needed assistance, police said. The woman told the individual she did not need help, but then offered to sell her daughter to them for $500, according to Palatka police's release.

When the employee declined the mother's offer, the mother walked away and left her daughter behind, police said.

What happened to the baby girl?

The employee would pick up the woman's daughter and take her to Palatka police headquarters where the department’s victim advocate cared for the baby until the Department of Children and Families took custody of her, according to the police's release.

The woman's baby is now in foster care, police said.

Palatka police found and arrested the woman on March 7, according to the release. The woman is in Putnam County jail with a $255,000 bond, court records show.

An order of no contact was signed off on in court prohibiting the woman from seeing or reaching out to her alleged victim, but court records did not disclose if that was her daughter.

It's unclear if the woman has an attorney.

 Jonathan Limehouse covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]