911 caller reports children wandering alone, arrests made

DAYTON — A 911 caller reporting several children wandering on a Dayton street alone Tuesday evening led to the arrest of three people, according to public records.

Heather Arnold, 37; Christopher Jones, 27; and Jalen Fields, 22, were each arrested in the 1300 block of Superior Avenue on suspicion of misdemeanor child endangering charges, according to police and jail records. Formal charges were not filed yet Wednesday afternoon, court records showed.

"I was riding in the car with my son and there's two little boys and a little girl, I guess they're lost,” the 911 caller told dispatchers.  “They don't know where they live. They don't have socks on. The littlest one, he doesn't even have a shirt on."

Officers responded to the area around 8:30 p.m., according to a Dayton police report.

The caller told emergency dispatchers one of the kids was estimated to be around a year old and another one of the children was approximately 2-years-old.

Dayton police said when they responded to the scene they discovered the children outside alone.  Once police determined where the children were staying, they found a “sizeable amount” of drugs inside the house as well as two guns, one of which was reported stolen, police said.

In addition to child endangering charges, Jones also was booked on charges of obstructing official business, possession of drugs and a weapons charge.

The 911 caller, while trying to comfort the children, said she’d never seen anything like it.

“This is awful. I've never in my life seen anything like this,” the caller said.  “This one baby doesn't have anything on but a Pamper and a pair of shorts."