5-Year-Old Autistic Boy Abandoned by Mother, Found Wandering

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A woman was arrested and charged on Friday for allegedly abandoning her 5-year-old autistic son, police said.

Heather Nicole Adkins, 32, was taken into police custody a day after her son, whose name has not been released to the public, was discovered wandering around Colerain Township, Ohio, just outside of Cincinnati. The boy, who is described as being non-verbal on account of autism, was picked up by police after motorists spotted him wandering around alone.

It was later determined that the boy was from Shelbyville, Indiana, roughly 75 miles northwest of Cincinnati, and had been abandoned at least a few hours before being picked up.

“Thanks to concerned residents who called us quickly last night, he is safe and warm," the Colerain Police Department posted on Facebook. "He will remain safe while we continue the investigation."

While being questioned, she said that she was from Shelbyville and had three children, including one with autism claiming that all three were safe with friends. She also claimed to have received treatment for meth and heroin addiction at a Georgetown hospital earlier on Sunday.

In a one-on-one interview which lasted nearly a half-hour, 32-year-old Heather Nicole Adkins of Shelbyville, Ind. admitted to leaving her non-verbal, autistic five-year-old son in Colerain Township, Ohio. But her story shifted several times throughout the course of the interview.

“I meant to leave him there with Patty,” Adkins said when asked if she left her child with someone.

“No I left him there with Brad, didn’t I?” Adkins answered later when I asked again if her son had been left alone.

“You’ve given me contradictory answers to the names of people you left him with in Colerain,” I said. “So did you leave him with someone or did you not?”

Adkins’ response? “No, I didn’t leave him with anyone.”

The child is in the custody of Hamilton County Jobs and Family Services.

Ronald Reese was headed out to pick up food Thursday night when he found Adkins’ son, saying he looked like he was in a daze as he walked along a road with no sidewalks.

”I immediately stopped and was like ‘Wait a minute, this isn’t normal,’” Reese said.

“I’m angered, Reese said. “If you didn’t want to deal with your child or your son, take him to the nearest relative that you think is fit to take care of him.”

”It hits close to home, I have a child that’s nonverbal as well and to think about him being alone, without anyone watching over him or him being able to express where he’s supposed to be or what happened to him?” said Michael Heithaus, who lives near the road where the child was found. “It’s very sad.”

Reese hopes it can serve as a wake-up call for Adkins.

“I’m just trying to understand why you ultimately chose to do that,” I asked Adkins.

“To save him from me,” Adkins replied.

“I’m just trying to understand why you ultimately chose to do that,” I asked Adkins.

“To save him from me,” Adkins replied.