Mother charged after children found playing in highway

BENTON, Mo. -- A 25-year-old woman has been charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child after the Scott County Sheriff's Department responded to a call Sunday morning that her two young children were playing in a busy highway that runs through Benton.

A release issued by the department Tuesday said neighbors called the sheriff's department after seeing the two boys, ages 3 and 4, alone outside on U.S. 61.

An investigation revealed that Michelle L. Cox, 25, of 122 Mack St., was reportedly asleep in her home when her children went outside on their own wearing blue jeans, shirts and no shoes, the release said.

Sheriff Rick Walter took the children into custody and contacted the Division of Family Services. The children were placed in foster care, according to the release.

Walter said in the release this is not the first time the department has had contact with Cox and her children, saying there have been at least two other cases this year when the children have been seen wandering around neighborhood streets unattended.

Walter said not only was the incident a danger to the children, but to motorists along U.S. 61 who could have injured or killed them or been involved in an accident trying to avoid them.

"Such irresponsible behavior by a parent affects us all and is a criminal matter," he said.