A mother in rural Georgia was arrested after her 10-year-old son was found walking into town by himself on the day before Halloween.
Brittany Patterson was with her other children at a doctor’s appointment, when 10-year-old Soren decided to walk into town, less than a mile away, by himself. The family lives on a farm in Mineral Bluff, a town of only a few hundred people.
A bystander noticed Soren walking along the street, where the speed limit was 35 mph, and asked if he was OK, to which he responded he was -- but she still called police.
The sheriff's department picked up Soren and met with Patterson at her home, where she reportedly gave her son a stern talk. However, later that night the police returned to the home and arrested Patterson for reckless conduct. She was later released on $500 bail.
Child services also came by the house the next day to perform a welfare check.
"It's definitely been a little traumatizing," Patterson said during an interview on Fox & Friends Weekend. "My kids have never seen anything like that or been exposed to anything like that, so really their first encounter with police or law enforcement is to see them taking their mother out of their home in handcuffs I think was pretty traumatizing."
Although her son did not ask permission to leave home, Patterson added that she "probably would have" allowed him to go if he had.
The police suggested the charges could be dropped if Patterson agreed to sign something that said another adult would be a "safety person" and keep an eye on Soren when she's not home, and to also place a GPS app on his phone to track his location. Patterson refused to comply with either suggestion.
According to Reason.com, if the state of Georgia decides to pursue the charges, Patterson could face a $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail.