Background, left to right: Haley Peoples, Rebecca Kelly (Bexar County (Tex.) Sheriff’s Office). Inset: Peoples’ 2-year-old daughter, reportedly seen on game camera footage in cold weather (Bexar County Sheriff’s Office).
In Texas, two women have been charged with endangering a 2-year-old girl, who was caught on surveillance footage wandering through a field in the early morning hours amid near-freezing temperatures.
Authorities in Bexar County reported that Haley Peoples, aged 21, and her 50-year-old mother, Rebecca Kelly, were detained on Friday. The situation came to light after a property owner alerted officials around 6 a.m., claiming their game camera had recorded a young child alone in the woods around 3 a.m.
The girl was captured on camera wearing just a dress and no shoes, despite the temperature being in the 40s, according to the sheriff’s office statement.
While a search was underway, the child’s mother eventually contacted law enforcement.
As stated in the sheriff’s report, “At 7:20 a.m., a woman identified as Haley Peoples informed us that her 2-year-old daughter had ‘gotten out of the home’ earlier that morning.” Peoples admitted to discovering her daughter outside at 4:15 a.m. but didn’t alert authorities for several hours, during which deputies were already searching for the child.
When deputies arrived at the residence, they reported finding “unsafe living conditions,” including piles of trash, soiled clothing, decomposing food, rat droppings, and a strong smell of urine throughout the home.
The child was also “found soiled,” the statement said.
Peoples “declined care and refused to change the child’s clothing,” a factor in deputies’ decision to detain Peoples at that time, according to the statement.
Officials noted that a total of four children — the girl seen on the camera and three siblings — lived in the home.
The girl’s grandmother apparently made an appearance while deputies were at the home — but left soon thereafter.
“During the investigation, the child’s grandmother, Rebecca Kelly, returned to the scene but left after being asked to wait for a supervisor,” the statement said. “Shortly afterward, deputies learned that Rebecca had gone to an Elementary School, where she attempted to remove the three other siblings from class before 9:00 a.m. School staff reported she claimed CPS was arriving and told the children not to talk about the early-morning incident, calling it a ‘private family matter.’”
Officials called this an “attempt to interfere with a child-safety investigation” that further endangered the child and “obstructed lawful efforts to ensure their wellbeing.”
Kelly was detained at the school. All four children were taken to the hospital for evaluation, the sheriff’s statement noted.
Peoples faces a charge of abandoning and endangering a child with imminent danger of bodily injury. Kelly was arrested for interference with an investigation of abuse or neglect. They were booked into the Bexar County Jail; officials have confirmed to Law&Crime that neither woman is in custody.
