]n tbc ;!Missouri qtourt of �ppcals �astern 1!listrict DIVISION TWO IN THE INTEREST OF: K.J.L. ) No. EDl 10726 ) ) Appeal from the Circuit Court of ) St. Charles County ) ) Hon. W. Christopher McDonough ) ) FILED: October 3, 2023 Introduction N.M.L. ("Grandmother") and C.E.L., Sr. ("Grandfather") (collectively, the "Grandparents") appeal from the trial court's judgment dismissing their petition for relative adoption and termination of parental rights over their grandson, K.J.L. Grandparents raise two points on appeal arguing the trial court erred in dismissing their petition because substantial and competent evidence showed Mother abandoned or neglected K.J.L. under Section 453.040(7), 1 respectively. Because the record supported the trial court's determination that Mother neither abandoned nor neglected K.J.L., the trial court did not err in declining to terminate Mother's parental rights and thereby mooting Grandparents' petition for relative adoption. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's judgment.

All Section references are to RSMo (2016).