Deputies say a game camera recorded the barefoot 2-year-old wandering before dawn on San Antonio’s South Side.
SAN ANTONIO — A 2-year-old girl seen wandering barefoot in South Side woods around 3 a.m. Friday was found safe and her mother and grandmother were arrested later that morning, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies say the case moved fast because a property owner’s game camera captured the child moving through brush in near-40-degree air before sunrise on Dec. 5. Investigators launched a search after the homeowner saw the clip around 6 a.m. and called authorities. By 7:20 a.m., the child’s mother had contacted deputies to report her daughter had gotten out of their home. The episode ended with two arrests, a hospital evaluation for four siblings, and a child-safety probe now stretching from the family’s residence to a nearby elementary school.
According to the sheriff’s office, the footage showed a small child in a dress with no shoes walking alone in a wooded area on the South Side at about 3 a.m. The property owner notified deputies at daybreak; patrol and specialized units began canvassing the area while temperatures hovered in the 40s. “With temperatures in the 40s, this little girl faced potential life-threatening danger at that hour,” the sheriff’s office said in a written statement. At 7:20 a.m., investigators say the child’s mother, identified as 25-year-old Haley Peoples, called to say the toddler had slipped out earlier. She told deputies she found the child outside around 4:15 a.m., but did not alert law enforcement for several hours while the search was already underway, according to the agency.
Deputies went to Peoples’ residence and reported “unsafe living conditions,” including trash, soiled clothing, rotting food, rat droppings and a heavy odor of urine. Emergency medics requested a medical evaluation for the 2-year-old after finding her “soiled,” but deputies say Peoples declined care and refused to change the child’s clothing. Peoples was detained at the scene and arrested on a charge of abandoning or endangering a child — imminent danger of bodily injury. During the investigation, deputies say the child’s grandmother, Rebecca Kelly, returned to the home, was asked to wait for a supervisor, and then left.
Investigators later learned Kelly had gone to Harmony Elementary School before 9 a.m., where she attempted to remove the child’s three siblings from class, according to the sheriff’s office. School staff reported Kelly claimed Child Protective Services was arriving and told the children not to discuss the early-morning incident, calling it a “private family matter.” Deputies detained Kelly at the school and arrested her on a charge of interference with investigation of abuse or neglect. The sheriff’s office said all four children, each younger than 8, were taken to a hospital for assessment following the arrests. Officials did not release the siblings’ conditions or describe any injuries, noting only that evaluations were completed.
The episode unfolded as a classic pre-dawn missing-child response that hinged on a homeowner’s camera and a fast call to deputies. The South Side is dotted with semi-rural pockets where game cameras are common, and investigators credit the early footage with focusing the search. While the agency did not specify the exact location of the wooded tract, the description of underbrush, low visibility and cold air underscores what deputies described as a serious risk for a child that age. The sheriff’s office did not immediately release how the child made it back to safety between 3 a.m. and 7:20 a.m., or who first encountered her after the camera recording. Officials also did not provide information about prior calls to the residence.
Legal and procedural steps moved quickly once deputies documented conditions inside the home and the attempted school pickup. Peoples and Kelly were booked into the Bexar County jail Friday on the listed charges. The sheriff’s office said Child Protective Services was notified as part of standard practice, and hospital evaluations were ordered for each child. Records of court appearances were not immediately available Friday afternoon. Any future charges will depend on CPS findings, medical reports and a review by the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office. The sheriff’s office said additional information, including bond amounts and intake details, would be released as records are processed.
Neighbors near the wooded area told deputies the cold was sharp before dawn, and one resident described the terrain as “dark and quiet” at that hour. A school employee, speaking on background because they were not authorized to comment publicly, said staff followed standard campus protocols when a family member arrived unannounced to remove children during an active safety investigation. A parent who walked past the front office midmorning said they saw “several deputies” near the entrance as classes continued. “We kept going because the kids had tests,” the parent said. No campus lockdown was reported.
As of Monday, Peoples and Kelly remained in custody while CPS and deputies continued their reviews. Officials said the children were medically evaluated and were to be placed in safe care while the investigation proceeds. The next expected update is from the sheriff’s office after case files are forwarded to prosecutors later this week.
Author note: Last updated December 8, 2025.