PERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Charges have been dropped against a Fayette County woman accused of child endangerment after the drowning death of her 2-year-old boy. The reason -- a state trooper failed to show up for court.

Police said Jacalyn Mills left a 9-year-old in charge of her 2-year-old foster son, Donovan Barksdale, at a church picnic in June.

At some point during the picnic, Donovan wandered off and drowned in a neighbor's swimming pool.

Mills was facing charges of reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child. On Tuesday, those charges were dismissed.

When asked why he didn't show up for court, the trooper would only tell Channel 4 Action News that there were scheduling issues.

In the meantime, the district attorney has already started the paperwork to re-file the charges against Mills.

Mills' defense attorney, Jim Ecker, said all charges should be dropped because it was an accident.

"It would happen to anybody if you have about 15 children running around and playing games and running around and 15 to 20 adults. It's very easy for one little child … to somehow get out and disappear," Ecker said.

Ecker said his client is distraught over what happened. But district attorney Nancy Vernon said Mills was responsible for the welfare of the child and what happened was reckless.