A 3-year-old boy and his 4-month-old brother have been placed with family members after they had been left home alone by their mother, who was at a bar drinking, according to a Department of Social Services official.
Police were called after a couple found the 3-year-old boy, in his pajama top and a diaper, running down S.C. 90 Sunday night looking for his mother.
Lenora Bush Reese of DSS confirmed Tuesday that the boys are with relatives, but she would not comment on whether DSS has a previous history with the family, citing state confidentiality laws.
The boys' mother, Kathleen Agnes Salling, 26, of Little River, is charged with unlawful neglect of a child or helpless person by legal custodian. She remained at J. Reuben Long Detention Center on Tuesday under $25,000 bail, according to jail officials.
Salling has no previous arrest record in South Carolina, according to State Law Enforcement Division records.
Police arrested Salling early Monday morning after they made contact with her and she returned home, according to an Horry County police report.
When police asked her if she knew why they were at her house, she replied, "Yes, because I left my children home alone," the report stated.
Salling initially told police she went out for 30 minutes to help a friend and then later said she was actually out at a bar having a couple of drinks, the report stated.
Police drove around late Sunday looking for the 3-year-old boy's parents after they were contacted by Barbara Patterson and her husband, Marion Patterson, who found the child at 11:20 p.m. that night on S.C. 90, according to an incident report. The Conway couple were on their way home from Calabash, N.C.
"We're thankful to the Pattersons," said Amanda Chestnut, the children's aunt, who lives in Calabash. "I think they are heroes. As terrifying as the story is, I believe that God put my nephew in the road in front of the Pattersons for a reason."
Chestnut, who is the sister of the children's father, said she and other family members have reported alleged abuse and neglect of her nephews in the past, but nothing had been done.
"It's very, very frustrating," said Chestnut, who said she has kept them before. "We can't just take the kids or we would be breaking the law. We worry about those children every day. We are very concerned and want to do what we can to help."
Police called DSS, who took the children into custody, after officers came to a subdivision across S.C. 90 where they spotted a front door open at 349 Carriage Lake Drive, according to the police report.
The officers found photos of the 3-year-old boy on the wall inside the house, and a 4-month-old boy sleeping in his crib, the report stated.
It was 1:45 a.m. when Salling returned home.
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