Calif. mom arrested for leaving kids in desert on 104-degree day

A mom abandoned her three young kids in the Mojave Desert without shoes or water on Wednesday morning in an effort to punish them, police said.

Heat waves distort the appearance of a vehicle when the temperature reaches 119 degrees and rising as a heat wave spreads across the American West on June 30, 2013, in Death Valley National Park, Calif.

The children – a 7-year-old girl, 6-year-old boy and a 5-year-old boy – were discovered about 11:20 a.m. near the 74-000 block of Samarkand Drive, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Cynthia Bachman told the Associated Press that while the children were in sight of the adults, “it was apparent they weren’t keeping a visual on them”.

The adults were identified as Mary Bell, 34, and Gary Cassle, 29.

Temperatures in the area were forecast to reach highs in the triple digits through the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. The children were found before temperatures topped out at 104 degrees in the Morongo Basin, he said.

The children had endured the desert heat for about 45 minutes by the time they were found.

During the investigation, it was determined that Bell was the mother of the three children and Cassle was Bell’s boyfriend. The parents and children live in a auto that was down the road from where the youths were left, sheriff’s department spokeswoman Cindy Bachman said.

Officials identified the parents as Arsenio Jones, 26, and Daniel Reid, 31. The kids are now with Children and Family Services.