A woman who was captured on surveillance camera dropping a child off at a stranger’s doorstep in Texas said that the whole situation is a misunderstanding.
A search for the boy revealed that the child, 2, lived at a home nearby. The father was located on Oct. 18, when reporters asked him about the boy in the footage.
“Detectives learned the father of the child received a text from the mother of the child…that a friend was going to drop off the child in the early afternoon [Wednesday],” Montgomery County Lt. Scott Spencer said, Fox News reported. The child wasn’t dropped off in the afternoon but at night.
The woman, who had been taking care of the boy, walked up to the home, knocked, and left the child there alone. A woman then reportedly opened the door and called the police. She also left several bags on the doorstep.
“I was gut-wrenched [watching the surveillance video],” Spencer said. “It was very alarming and very disturbing and my heart was hurting for the child.”
The woman in the video said that it was a mistake, Fox reported.
The home where she had left the child was next door to the father’s residence. However, it’s not clear still why she left the child by himself and got back into a car and sped off.
Spencer said that officials didn’t know that the child’s father lived next door when they carried out an initial search.
Police are questioning the mother, who was not named. She is at the hospital, Fox reported.
The boy’s father confirmed the child in the video is named Prince Simmons, ABC7 reported.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in Texas posted video footage that appears to show a woman abandoning a 2-year-old child on a stranger’s doorstep. (Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office)The boy has since been placed in foster care as officials try to figure out what to do next.
The department had written: “The suspect is observed running toward the front door of the residence while lifting the child in the air by one arm. Once the suspect arrives at the front door she rings the door bell, knocks on the door and then flees back to her vehicle abandoning the 2 year child and two bags she was carrying. The entire incident lasted 23 seconds.”
“The child is uninjured and appears to be in good health. Child Protective Services responded to the scene and took custody of the child and are assisting in identifying the child’s family,” said the sheriff’s department in a statement.
If anyone has more information regarding the child or woman, please contact the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office 936-760-5800 or contact Multi-County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-392-STOP (7867) and refer to case# 18A299244.
