Police in Ohio have arrested a 36-year-old woman after finding her 3- and 8-year-old children wandering outside in 8 degree temperatures after midnight Thursday.
Mentor Police said they were called to an Extended Stay America hotel by a resident who had found a small child, wearing only a sweater, alone outside and brought her in to safety. Responding officers were able to determine that the 3-year-old girl had been staying at the hotel with her family and soon located the girl’s mother.
Laura Beitler told officers she had been asleep and was unaware the toddler had left the room. While talking with police, she realized that her 8-year-old daughter was also missing.
More officers were called to the scene, including from other jurisdictions and a drone team. Other hotel residents also joined the search, and the girl was found outside a neighboring hotel, wearing only a t-shirt and sneakers.
Both girls were placed into a warmed police vehicle and then taken to TriPoint Medical Center by the Mentor Fire Department. They were released a short time later.
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.
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