Mother of 2 Phoenix girls reported missing over weekend accused of child abuse
Oct 11, 2021, 1:07 PM | Updated: 1:26 pm
Ashleigh Williams was booked on two counts of child abuse on Oct. 11, 2021, after her two daughters went missing. The girls were found in good condition a day earlier. (Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Booking Photo and Photos via Phoenix Police Department)
(Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Booking Photo and Photos via Phoenix Police Department)
PHOENIX – The biological mother of two young Phoenix girls who went missing over the weekend before turning up safe has been arrested on child abuse charges, authorities said Monday.
Detectives investigating the case developed probable cause to arrest Ashleigh Williams, 40, the Phoenix Police Department said in a press release.
Williams called police around 2 a.m. Sunday to say the girls, ages 3 and 4, had been missing from an apartment near 16th Street and Missouri Avenue since 6 p.m. Saturday. The were found safe around 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
According to court documents, Williams told police she had a substance abuse problem and had passed out after taking pills she believed were fentanyl.
She also said she’d given up parental rights to her ex-boyfriend and isn’t supposed to have unsupervised visitation with the girls, according to the probable cause statement.
A woman who was familiar with the girls found them Saturday and tried to return them to the apartment where their mother was, but she was unable to wake her up, according to the probable cause statement.
The girls stayed with the woman at a nearby residence overnight. She took them out to play Sunday, when somebody recognized them and called police.
Police said the girls were happy and healthy when they were located.
The woman who’d been watching the girls cooperated with police and said she was unaware they’d been the subject of a search.
