ANDERSON, Calif. (TCD) — Police rescued eight children over the weekend who had reportedly been kidnapped from their foster homes in Arkansas and driven to Northern California with their biological mother, who no longer had custody of them.
According to the Anderson Police Department, just after midnight on Saturday, Oct. 21, a “concerned citizen” called 911 and asked officers to conduct a welfare check on a group of six children who were with a woman “displaying bizarre behavior.” Police went to the location the person provided and found the woman, Trista Fullerton, and the kids in a parking lot.
Police determined Fullerton, 36, was driving a Dodge pickup truck with Arkansas plates and learned she had a warrant for her arrest for allegedly abducting eight children. Anderson Police shared photos of the pickup truck, which was strewn with trash bags, empty bottles, pieces of food, and clothing. There also appeared to be furniture filed in the truck bed.
Officers took her into custody and learned the other two children were at a house in Cottonwood. Shasta County Sheriff’s Office deputies assisted Anderson Police by going to the home and picking up the other two juveniles.
Anderson Police said the eight children were put into custody of Shasta County Children and Family Services until they could be reunited with their families. All eight were reported as abducted from Arkansas with protective custody warrants.
Police learned Fullerton is the biological mother of all eight children, but she no longer had custodial rights. All the victims were reportedly taken from their respective foster placements.
Fullerton was booked into the Shasta County Jail on a fugitive from justice warrant.
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