Monongalia County Sheriff’s Deputies and Monongalia Emergency Medical Services responded to a scary situation involving a mother and her two children on Interstate 68 Friday morning.
According to Chief Deputy of Law Enforcement Mark Ralston, at about 7 a.m. Friday, a female called 911 reporting that her daughter, 41, and two grandchildren had removed their clothing, exited the vehicle, and began walking down the shoulder of I-68 near the 5 mile marker.
The grandmother, who called 911, was traveling in the vehicle with the woman and children, but was unable to stop them from getting out, Ralston said.
Deputies and medical personnel responding to the scene determined the female may have been experiencing a mental health crisis, Ralston said. She was transported by ambulance to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital for further evaluation.
The two children, an 11-year-old female and an 8-year-old male were assessed by EMS and determined to be unharmed. According to Ralston, the children’s grandparents assumed custody of the pair after the incident.
Ralston said the family was from Delaware. A gold alert for the woman and her children had been issued by the City of Dover Police Department Thursday afternoon after a family member reported her and the children missing.
According to information from the Dover Police alert, the woman suffered from “multiple conditions that may pose a risk to her health and well-being if not properly monitored and treated.”
The alert was canceled late Thursday evening after the mother and children had been located here in West Virginia. The woman’s parents were bringing the trio back to Delaware when the I-68 incident occurred.
According to Ralston, the scene was cleared by 7:45 a.m. and Delaware child protective services were contacted for follow-up on the incident.
