Police Find Mother Who Left Children

A woman abandoned her two children in a car in the Angeles National Forest about a mile north of Castaic Lake and disappeared for more than 13 hours before being found Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

Debbie Teague, 30, of Long Beach was spotted from a helicopter by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies about 1:40 p.m., said Sgt. Bill Benton. She was walking barefoot on a dirt road about two miles south of where she parked the car, near Templin Highway and the Golden State Freeway.

Teague’s 12-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter told deputies that their mother abandoned them about midnight Saturday after telling them to go to sleep, Benton said.

When the boy awoke the next morning and discovered his mother was gone, he walked to the nearby Castaic Power Plant to get help, Benton said.

Teague, who left her purse, shoes and jewelry in the car, was carrying an iron pipe in one hand and was “completely disoriented” when found, Benton said.

“She kept telling sheriff’s deputies not to come near her,” he said. “She was really out of her head.”

Deputies contacted the children’s father, Cornell Teague--who is divorced from the mother and has custody of the children--to come and pick them up, Benton said.

Debbie Teague, who has weekend custody of the children, was taken to Olive View Medical Center in Sylmar, where she will undergo a 72-hour psychiatric evaluation, Benton said.

“We won’t be filing criminal charges against her because of her condition,” Benton said.