Mom abandons 5-year-old autistic son on side of road, cops say

An Indiana mother who authorities say drove to Ohio and abandoned her 5-year-old autistic son on a street was captured in Kentucky when police there arrested her on an unrelated warrant.

The child was found unharmed about an hour after he was abandoned in Colerain Township on Thursday night, authorities said. The boy, who is nonverbal, was spotted by passing motorists as he tried to wave down cars.

His mother was arrested Saturday night at a gas station in Georgetown, Ky., on an unrelated warrant. Authorities later learned about the charges that had been filed that day in Ohio, and they are now working to bring her back there to face those counts.

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It's not clear why the mother abandoned the boy or why she did it in Ohio, authorities said. She lives in Shelbyville, Indiana, which is about 75 miles (121 kilometers) west of Cincinnati.