COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — An Indiana mother is spending the night in jail after police said she abandoned her young son in Colerain Township.
Family friend Crystalyn Davis said Heather Adkins drove to Tennessee and dropped off two of her children with a friend. Her son, whose name she said is Thomas, was not with the family when they arrived.
Instead, Ron Reese said he spotted Thomas alone on Sheed Road Thursday night, attempting to flag down cars 75 miles away from his Shelbyville, Indiana home.
"He seemed cold, he seemed lost, he seemed disheveled, but once he (saw) that there was somebody there, some people there to help him, he began to relax a little bit," Reese said.
Reese said his paternal instincts kicked in when he saw Thomas, who is non-verbal and has autism. He attempted to get his name and called 911.
"I knew that I had to do something," Reese said. "Even if no one else is around I knew I had to do something to make sure that this child made it home safe."
While waiting for police to arrive, Reese said he did his best to make sure Thomas, who was cold and soaking wet, felt safe. He shared his dinner and tried to show him the love of a parent, thanking God he found the child.
"He placed me and a little guy in each other's paths so I could help him — to let him know and show him that it's a brighter day," Reese said. "You don't have to go back to where you were going, what you were going through. Someone needs to show this young man what true love really is."
Adkins was found at a gas station 90 miles away in Georgetown, Kentucky. Reese said he could not believe someone would abandon their child on the side of the road.
"It saddened me, it hurt me, because if you didn't want your child, there are other means that you could have done in order to give your child away to the system," Reese said. "You should have never, ever, ever dropped your child off on the side of the road as if your child was a piece of nothing. Like, why would you do that? It hurt me."
Thomas has been with Hamilton County Job and Family Services. His siblings are with Davis, who said she is working to reunite them with their brother.
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