Mother of 2 toddlers found wandering alone in city arrested

Long Beach, CA (KTLA) -- The mother of two toddlers who were found wandering along on a sidewalk in Long Beach had "endangered and abandoned her children" and was placed under arrest, investigators said Friday, hours after the woman was found.

Shenae Irene Dixon, 23, was identified as the mother of the boys on Friday morning, when police asked the public for help finding her. Dixon was located in good health, the Long Beach Police Department announced on Twitter at about 2 p.m.

Dixon was found near the intersection of Firestone Boulevard and Alameda Street in the unincorporated Florence-Firestone area after a witness who recognized her from news broadcasts contacted authorities, police said.

Her two sons has been discovered unaccompanied Thursday morning near the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and 60th Street, according to a police news release. Police asked for help identifying the boys, thought to be aged 1 and 2, and finding their parents.

On Friday, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies took Dixon into custody and then transferred her to Long Beach detectives, who interviewed her about her whereabouts over the previous 24 hours.

"The preliminary investigation leads detectives to believe Shenae Dixon … had endangered and abandoned her children," a police news release stated.

Dixon was arrested on suspicion of child abandonment and child endangerment and was being held at Long Beach's jail on $100,000 bail.

No further details about the case were set to be released amid the ongoing investigation, police said.

Dixon's identity was initially provided to investigators by a relative of the boys who recognized them from news reports and called police, the news release said.

Surveillance video from a liquor store near the location where the boys were discovered showed them walking with an unidentified woman on the sidewalk of Atlantic Avenue about 8:45 a.m.

Minutes later, the African-American boys were found alone by Amber Revels, a passerby.

"They were two innocent little baby boys. They didn't have anything to do with whatever she … had going on," Revels said. "I feel bad for them."

Revels said the children were soiled with urine at the time, and that responding police officers purchased new diapers for them.

They remained in the custody of the county Department of Children and Family Services.

Residents who recognized Dixon said she was a regular at a local liquor store and moved from motel to motel in the area.

Anyone with information was urged to call the Police Department's Communications Center at 562-435-6711.