Mindy McCready prepared to go to jail over son

The singer made headlines earlier this week when she and five-year-old Zander were declared missing after she failed to return him after picking him up for a visit.

She had been ordered by a judge to bring the youngster back to Florida by Thursday afternoon.

But McCready, 36, claims she is pregnant and this prevents her from getting to Florida.

She told Associated Press (AP) from Nashville: 'I'm a mom first. No matter what happens, I'm going to protect my kid. If I have to go to jail, so be it.'

She first made headlines when authorities said she and Zander - whose legal guardian is McCready's mother, Gayle Ingne - disappeared from her father's Cape Coral home.

In her AP interview, McCready accused Inge of abusing Zander. However, her mother said the claims are 'absolutely not true'.