Police Arrest Woman Accused Of Leaving 2 Children Alone In Motel

An El Paso woman was charged with abandoning and endangering a child after she left two children in a lower valley motel Tuesday afternoon, according to the El Paso Police Department.

A Sun Valley Motel employee went to the motel room after receiving a hang-up call shortly after 4 p.m. and found a 7-year old girl and a 4-year-old boy alone.

Police said the children did not know where their parents were. The girl told police they had gone to donate plasma earlier that day and that she and the boy had been alone since noon.

Officers said they found an open pocket knife in the room, which was disheveled.

Police said the children were hungry, so officers bought them Happy Meals.

Jasmine Lara, 21, returned to the hotel room at 5:45 p.m. and was placed under arrest and charged with two counts of abandoning and endangering child as well as two outstanding municipal warrants. She was booked on bonds totaling $3,617.

The children are now under the care of Child Protective Services.