Background: The Copperas Cove, Texas, neighborhood where a boy came home to an empty apartment (Google Maps). Insets (left to right): Erica Renee Sanders and Keven Dwayne Adams (Copperas Cove Police Department).

Keven Dwayne Adams and Erica Renee Sanders were taken into custody on Friday following an investigation by the Copperas Cove police. Authorities were alerted after Sanders’ son came home to find their apartment completely vacated and his family missing. According to an arrest affidavit sourced by local Fox affiliate KWKT, the bewildered boy went to a neighbor’s house to show them the empty apartment. When police arrived, the boy explained that his mother and her boyfriend had mentioned plans to move, but he was unaware of any immediate arrangements.

KWKT further reported that police managed to reach Adams and Sanders by phone. The couple claimed that the boy’s uncle was supposed to pick him up, yet they failed to provide any contact details for the uncle. When police eventually contacted the uncle, he was unaware of any such plans.

During conversations with police, Adams allegedly expressed extensive grievances about Sanders’ 12-year-old son. The affidavit also notes that child protective services reached out to Adams and Sanders for their current address, but the couple reportedly refused to disclose this information.

Police said that when they spoke to Adams, he “complained at length” about his girlfriend’s 12-year-old son. According to the affidavit, child protective services also contacted Adams and Sanders to obtain a current address. They reportedly refused to provide one.

When the neighbor who took the boy in spoke with police, he said that Adams and Sanders had kicked the boy out of the house in the past.

Adams and Sanders were both charged with abandoning or endangering a child without intent to return. Law&Crime reached out to the Coryell County Sheriff’s Office to find out if Adams and Sanders were still in custody but did not receive an immediate response.