SAN ANTONIO -- Police are crediting the actions of a group of employees at a west side beauty salon for leading to the arrests of two people charged in the beating of a 2-year-old child.

When the women of the Simply The Best beauty salon saw the child last week, they said they couldn’t remain silent.

"She was holding her face down where she was trying to focus … she was all red and swollen,” witness Rachel Moreno said.”

The girl was hit with a belt and was bound as punishment for potty training accidents, an arrest affidavit states.

The toddler's 23-year-old father and his 23-year-old wife, who is accused of carrying out the alleged beating, were arrested Wednesday night.

Danelle Cowan, who is not the child's biological mother, was charged with injury to a child and was being held in the Bexar County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bond.

The girl's father, Christopher Cowan, was charged with injury to a child by omission and was jailed on a $50,000 bond. He admitted to police that he allowed his wife to abuse the child over a three-day period, the affidavit states.

When the employees at the salon suggested to Christopher Cowan to take his daughter to the hospital, he replied, "As long as she's walking, she's fine," the affidavit states.

The employees used a simple, but elaborate plan to help police find the couple.

One stylist stalled the father while he was getting a haircut, a second employee called police and a third wrote down the couple’s license plate number, according to the affidavit.

Child Protective Services was notified, and it was then that the toddler was taken to a hospital, where several other injuries were discovered, the affidavit states.

The affidavit also stated that Danelle Cowan put hot sauce in the girl's mouth as punishment for cursing and some of the hot sauce got in the girl's eyes.

"The important part of this is the outcry that somebody who saw something made," said San Antonio Police Department spokesman Sgt. Gabe Trevino. "I think that's extremely important. These kids can't protect themselves. They can't always make the outcry themselves."

The girl was released from the hospital. She and three other children who were living in West Side home are staying with relatives.