2 Toddlers Allegedly Found Unconscious With Drugs In Car Parked At Walmart, Mother Arrested

A woman was arrested after her two children were allegedly found unconscious inside a running car in a Walmart parking lot in San Jacinto, California.

Deputies arrived at the parking lot Monday evening after receiving reports that two children were alone in a black Toyota Solara. The officers found a 1-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy unconscious in the vehicle.

"Deputies removed the children from the car, and fire personnel began performing life-saving measures. The children were taken to Hemet Valley Hospital via American Medical Response for advanced care," Riverside County Sheriff's Department said, Patch reported.

Preliminary investigation revealed the children were left unattended in the car for over two hours.

Investigators searched the car and found methamphetamine and heroin "within arm's reach of both children," the Sheriff's Department added.

Following a search, the mother of the two children, identified as 29-year-old Sarah Casciato, was taken into custody and charged with child endangerment. She was being held at Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility as of Wednesday in lieu of a $500,000 bond.

Reports stated the accused was homeless, but it remained unclear where the woman was when she was taken into custody.

Child Protective Services took custody of the children after they were discharged from the hospital.

The incident comes weeks after a woman in New York was arrested after she left her children unattended in a car for over 30 minutes. Officers arrived at the scene after receiving information that two children were found alone in a car parked near a mall. Investigation revealed the mother, 27-year-old Guadalupe Guevara-Diaz, had left the children, a 9-year-old girl, and 3-year old boy, in the vehicle and gone shopping in the mall. The mother was arrested and charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

In another incident, last month, a woman in Virginia was arrested and charged with child neglect after she left her toddler alone in a car for approximately 30 minutes. The vehicle was parked at a Walmart while she shopped in the store.