EL PASO COUNTY, COLO. -- New information is released about the mother accused of leaving her toddler alone near I-25 over the weekend.
Nyesha Hall-Gonzalez was arrested on Saturday.
The 28-year-old has been charged with child abuse and attempted first degree murder.
Law enforcement officials became suspicious after Hall-Gonzalez was spotted walking barefoot in her nightgown near the railroad tracks at I-25 and mile marker 119.
"There was some concern about her physical and emotional state," Sgt. Mike Schaller with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said. "While we were out the state patrol arrived on scene and said a few hours earlier they were out with her and she had a small child, but there was no child with her at the time."
That is when deputies and troopers began to question Hall-Gonzalez about her son, who was later identified as 2-year-old Carmelo Ortiz-Hall.
Schaller said at that point Hall-Gonzalez became uncooperative, and search teams were called out to look for the toddler.
"So a great collaborative search effort resulted in one of our K-9s finding the child safe and sound," Schaller said.
According to Hall-Gonzalez's arrest warrant, she left Carmelo alone in some bushes.
As for where he was found, the document said the child was in a ditch east of I-25 underneath four feet of tumbleweeds.
It also states he was only wearing a diaper, and was wrapped in a coat and dress.
"The potential for a horrific ending was very possible in this situation, but fortunately this was a case where that did not happen," Schaller said.
When asked why she left her son alone in the cold, Hall-Gonzalez told detectives she was going to kill her child because no one would want him after she killed herself.
The warrant also said Hall-Gonzalez and her husband were going to get a divorce because she had been cheating on him, among other things.
It said the couple has another child together, an infant, who was not with Hall-Gonzalez on Saturday.
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