INDIANA MOM CHARGED WITH ABANDONING AUTISTIC SON - 2-20-2022.jpg

Heather Nicole Adkins, 32, of Shelbyville, Indiana was arrested Saturday night at a gas station in Georgetown, Kentucky, on an unrelated warrant. She allegedly abandoned her 5-year-old autistic son in Ohio. Feb. 21, 2022.

COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WDRB) — An Indiana mother who authorities say drove to Ohio and abandoned her 5-year-old autistic son on a street was captured in Kentucky when police there arrested her on an unrelated warrant from 2011.

The child was found unharmed about an hour after authorities say he was abandoned in Colerain Township on Thursday night by Ronald Reese.

"I'm angered if you didn't want to deal with your son take him to the nearest relative that you think is fit to care for him," Reese told WKYT.

The boy, who is nonverbal, was spotted by passing motorists as he tried to wave down cars. His mother, Heather Nicole Adkins, 32, was arrested Saturday night at a gas station in Georgetown, Kentucky, on an unrelated warrant.

Adkins sounded confused in a jailhouse interview with a reporter from WKYT. She first told him "I meant to leave him there with Patty."  Later in the interview, she said, "No, I left him with Brad, didn't I?" After repeated questions, Adkins finally said she left her son, "to save him from me."  

Authorities say it’s not clear why the Shelbyville woman abandoned the boy or why she did it in Ohio

Copyright 2022. WDRB Media. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. 

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