Share and Follow
Authorities in Ohio have detained a 36-year-old woman after her two young children were discovered wandering outside in frigid temperatures late Thursday night.
The Mentor Police Department reported that they were alerted to the situation at the Extended Stay America hotel by a concerned resident. The resident had found a young child shivering in the cold, wearing just a sweater, and brought her inside to safety. Upon arrival, officers identified the 3-year-old girl as a guest at the hotel with her family and quickly located her mother.
The mother, Laura Beitler, informed officers that she had been asleep and was unaware that her toddler had exited the room. It was during her conversation with the police that she realized her 8-year-old daughter was also missing.
In response, additional officers, including those from neighboring jurisdictions and a drone team, joined the search effort. Hotel residents also participated in the search, and eventually, the 8-year-old was found outside a nearby hotel, dressed only in a t-shirt and sneakers.
Both children were immediately placed in a heated police vehicle and transported by the Mentor Fire Department to TriPoint Medical Center. They were discharged shortly thereafter.
Beitler was charged with endangering children, and the girls were handed over to their father, who had been away from the hotel for a family emergency.
Â