Swain County DSS director suspended during probe

BRYSON CITY, NC(AP)– The director of the Swain County
Department of Social Services has been placed on leave while police
investigate the death of a toddler who was being monitored by the
agency.

The county DSS board voted Monday to put Tammy Cagle on paid
leave.

A warrant by the State Bureau of Investigation says 15-month-old
Aubrey Littlejohn died Jan. 10 after spending the previous day
strapped in a car seat for 12 hours and getting only bites of a hot
dog and sips of soda. Police say a great-aunt noticed the child was
not breathing and took her to the Cherokee Indian Hospital.

A social worker already had been suspended during the
investigation.

Officials are investigating whether the worker falsified records
and whether his supervisor told him to do so.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)