ATASCOSA COUNTY, Texas – A 25-year-old mother is in custody in Atascosa County, accused of abandoning her two young children.
Jourdanton Police Chief Eric Kaiser said around midnight Sunday, someone saw a 5-year-old and a 1-year-old walking along Highway 16 in Jourdanton.
"A passerby on the highway saw two children, which we later learned were ages 5 and 1, on the side of the road by themselves without an adult around," Kaiser said.
The children were found in the 2100 block of Highway 16. It appeared the 1-year-old had fallen and was bleeding.
The mother, who has been identified as Jessica Bowen, showed up to the scene and was questioned by police.
"From the mother, we had learned that she had left the kids asleep and went to the neighbor's house," Kaiser said. "The kids woke up and apparently wandered out of the house and down the highway."
Bowen is charged with abandoning or endangering a child with intent to return, which is a state jail felony. She was booked into the Atascosa County Jail. Her bond has been set at $20,000.