An Oklahoma woman, aged 39, has been apprehended in relation to her daughter’s disappearance over two years ago. The woman, Ashley Rowland, is alleged to have handed over her then 2-year-old daughter to a man from whom she was purchasing drugs. Rowland was arrested last week and is facing charges of child abandonment. The child has reportedly not been seen since 2022, as per local Tulsa news reports.
In April 2023, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services was assigned the task of taking the toddler into custody. However, they were unable to locate the child. They did manage to find and make contact with Rowland at a residence in Moore, Oklahoma, a town approximately 10 miles south of Oklahoma City.
Upon making contact with Rowland, she reportedly told the agents that her daughter was residing with her father in Georgia. However, further investigation revealed that Rowland was not truthful about her daughter’s location, leading to the involvement of the Moore Police Department.
During a subsequent interview with the police, Rowland allegedly confessed that she had given her daughter to a man named Carlos in April 2022. She also mentioned that Carlos, who was her drug dealer at the time, could potentially be the child’s biological father, although she was uncertain.
Rowland reportedly admitted to not having seen her daughter since she was given to Carlos. She was unable to provide any additional information about Carlos, except that he might have planned to travel to Mexico and did not possess any identification documents for the child.
The local police have stated that the child would now be 5 years old, but her current whereabouts or even her survival status remain unknown. The department has urged anyone with information about the case to come forward.
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services has refrained from commenting on the specifics of the case, describing the entire situation as “heartbreaking and unimaginable.” Rowland is currently being held at the Oklahoma County Detention Center with a bond set at $3,000.