A South St. Paul family is looking for answers after their 3-year-old son tested positive for methamphetamines.

“How is this even possible?” said the child’s mother, Victoria Kane. “A 3-year-old should not ingest meth.”

Kane said her son started acting strange after coming home from day care on Dec. 6.

“I got a phone call from my provider that my son had thrown up at lunch, so I went to pick him up,” Kane said. “He wouldn’t sit still, he wouldn’t stop talking. He was pacing our couch, moving his hands a lot, putting them in his pocket, talking, his mouth was dry. I just didn’t know what was wrong with my child.”

She said the day care told her he had hit his head at school earlier in the day.

Her pediatrician advised her to take him to the hospital, where the medical team ruled out head trauma.

However, drug testing at the hospital revealed he had amphetamines and methamphetamines in his system.

“They told us he wouldn’t sleep for 48 hours. We were up all night in the hospital,” Kane said. “There was nothing they could do other than sit and watch him tweak out.”

She said she also got a strange story from her son that he ate “onion crumbs” at day care.

“I thought, onion crumbs? What does meth look like?” Kane said. “Sure enough, it kind of looks like onion crumbs.”

South St. Paul Police Department confirmed it received a report of a child who had consumed an unknown substance on Dec. 6.

The police department provided the following statement:

“During the course of our preliminary investigation, it was learned that a conflict of interest may present during the course of this investigation and as such, we contacted the Lakeville Police Department and asked them to conduct a conflict investigation on our behalf.”

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS learned the in-home day care facility in question is licensed to an elected official in South St. Paul.

KSTP reached out to Lakeville Police Department, which would not provide any further information about an investigation.

However, we did learn the day care’s license is “temporarily suspended.”

The order from the Minnesota Department of Human Services states:

“There is an imminent risk of harm to persons served. On December 9, 2024, Dakota County received a report indicating the initiation of an investigation. The allegations in the report indicate that the terms of a variance were violated and there is an immediate health and safety risk for children in care.”

Kane said the status of the day care has recently gained attention in social media posts.

“It got posted on Facebook, on neighborhood group chats. People were like, ‘Oh, that’s all speculation. We want the truth.’ And I’m sitting here with the truth, so I feel responsible to share it,” Kane said.

She is still waiting for updates on the case, including whether anyone will face criminal charges.

In the meantime, she is grateful her son has recovered.

“I’m going to trust the medical professionals who told me he will be fine, that he will not be an addict and he will make a full recovery. He’s doing great,” Kane said.