WISE COUNTY — The Wise County Sheriff's Office said an 18-month-old toddler was left home alone for eight hours on Saturday.
Deputies entered the padlocked rural residence through a window to find the child in a crib in an "extremely hot" locked room with an electric space heater, officials said in a statement.
The child's parents — identified as Tiffany Barnes and Thomas Harris — face charges in the case. Deputies say the couple told them they left their home for a doctor's appointment, taking their five-year-old child with them.
Officials said Barnes and Harris told deputies hey left the toddler behind because he was taking a nap and they didn't want to wake him.
Child Protective Services has taken custody of both children.
Barnes and Harris now face second degree felony warrants for child abandonment; a judge set bond at $10,000 each.
