A report of woman’s unattended death in Weld led authorities to a room littered with drugs, used syringes, and a sleeping 3-year-old child.

Ian K. Klanfer

The father of the toddler, Ian Klanfer, 35, was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child and taken to the Franklin County Detention Facility, said police.

At 4 a.m. Tuesday, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office was notified of the unattended death of Elspeth Donnelly, 29, originally of Haverhill, Massachusetts, who had been living in Weld recently, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.

Donnelly had been transferred by private vehicle from Weld to Rumford Hospital by her boyfriend, Klanfer, and Eric Bonfore, 42, both of Weld. She was pronounced dead at the hospital and the cause of her death is under investigation, according to the release.

Sheriff’s deputies and a Maine State Trooper went to Donnelly’s home in Weld, where they found her 3-year-old son sleeping. Another couple, visitors from Texas, were found sleeping in an upstairs bedroom. They were not aware that the other occupants of the home had all left during the night, leaving the 3-year-old alone, the release said.

With a search warrant in hand, officers found numerous prescriptions, illicit drugs and used syringes in the same room where the child was found sleeping, the release said.