WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — Numerous alarmed bystanders spotted a child running across the freeway on Friday evening.

According to the affidavit, Officer Robert Snyder responded to 4514 Northwest Freeway at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, November 10, 2023, for a high-priority welfare check. Several callers said they saw a male child running across the freeway alone and called authorities.

The child, identified as four years old, told officers that MyKenzie Streadwick was watching him, but she left him and his younger brother at home to visit her grandmother. The child stated he wanted candy, so he left the residence to go to the store and was found 0.25 miles from the house.

When Streadwick returned to the residence, officers had been with the child for approximately 10 minutes. Steadwick told officers she went to check on her grandmother for about an hour and 15 minutes and was helping a friend by watching her children. The children’s mother said her 10-year-old son was also home, but he is never left alone to watch the younger siblings. The mother said MyKenzie did not tell her she would leave the house and that she had her protecting the children while she was at work.

Steadwick was arrested for abandoning the children, and her bond was set at $2,500 by the judge.

At the time of the child’s departure from the house, the temperature was reportedly 55 degrees.