Inset: Madeline Colunga (Harris County Constable Precinct 4). Background: The Tomball, Texas, neighborhood where authorities say Colunga’s children were found without adult supervision (Harris County Constable Precinct 4).
A Texas mother was taken into custody recently after authorities said she left her infant and two other small children alone at home for an unclear length of time.
Madeline Colunga, 28, is charged with one felony count of abandoning a child with intent to return, according to Harris County court records reviewed by Law&Crime.
The case stems from a July 8 incident at a home on Cavern Springs Drive in Tomball, a Houston-area suburb located roughly 30 miles northwest of the city.
Deputies from Harris County Constable Precinct 4 responded to the residence after neighbors reported seeing several young children outside by themselves, according to a press release.
“Upon arrival, deputies discovered three children, ages 1, 3, and 4, had been left home alone,” the agency said in the release. “Multiple attempts were made to contact the children’s mother, but she did not respond.”
Investigators later got in touch with a relative, officials said. That family member then reached the children’s mother by phone, and she allegedly indicated that she was returning to the home.
Authorities have released few additional details, saying Colunga allegedly did not provide much clarification about where she had been or how long the children were left unattended.
“A short time later, the mother…returned to the home,” the press release goes on. “During the investigation, she was unable to provide a reasonable explanation for leaving the children unattended.”
In turn, Colunga was arrested and booked in the Harris County Jail that night on an initial charge of child endangerment with intent to return. Her bond was set at $5,000 and quickly posted, court records show.
The charging document in the case, a criminal complaint, is relatively threadbare but does offer some additional details.
The document reads, in relevant part:
[T]he Defendant…did then and there unlawfully, having care, custody, control of L.C., a child younger than fifteen years of age and hereafter called the Complainant, intentionally abandon the Complainant in a residence, under circumstances that exposed the Complainant to an unreasonable risk of harm, namely leaving the Complainant unsupervised in an unsecured residence where Complainant walked outside of the residence and with the intent to return for the Complainant, and the Defendant did not voluntarily deliver the Complainant to a designated emergency infant care provider
Meanwhile, law enforcement notified Child Protective Services about the incident. The children were “safely released to a guardian at the scene,” according to the constable’s office.
“The safety of our children is always our highest priority,” Constable Mark Herman said. “Leaving young children home alone places them at serious risk and is never worth the gamble. We are grateful for the neighbors who acted quickly and contacted law enforcement. If you see a child in danger, don’t hesitate to call 911.”
Colunga is slated to appear in court on Sept. 1.
