Toddlers found sleeping in Marble Hill yard early Friday morning

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been corrected to say the boys were staying with their mother's friend's mother, not their grandmother.

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Marble Hill Police spent part of Friday looking for the mother of two boys, ages 4 and 2, who were found sleeping in a yard on Hopkins Street around 5 a.m.

The older boy was found wearing pants, a shirt and a light jacket, and the younger one was wearing a shirt, jacket and a diaper, said Marble Hill Police Chief Dennis Willis. The boys knew only their first names, their mother's first name and the color of her car.

According to Willis, the mother of the boys -- believed to be visiting from Illinois or recently moved to the area -- had left the boys with her friend's mother, who lives on Hopkins Street. The children's mother returned around 2 p.m. to pick up the boys, he said, and the caretaker reportedly said she thought the mother had already come by since she didn't see the children in the house.

"I can't believe no one reported them missing," Willis said. "In 25 years, I've never seen anything like this."

The children were turned over to the Division of Family Services, which is assisting in the investigation. At the time Willis spoke to the Banner Press, officers were questioning the mother, whose name had not yet been released.

Willis said he felt certain charges will be filed, but it is too early to tell against whom and which charges.

"We need to get a lot of answers before this is over with," he said.

Pertinent address:

Hopkins Street, Marble Hill, MO