A woman accused of leaving her quadriplegic son in a wooded area for five days was taken into custody early Sunday morning.
Nyia Parler reportedly left her disabled 21-year-old in Philadelphia's Cobb Creek Park with only a blanket and a Bible.
Police say Parler left her son in the woods along Cobbs Creek Parkway near Catherine Street around 11am on Monday, then boarded a bus to Montgomery County, Maryland to see her boyfriend.
Her son's school, School of the Future at 40th Street and Parkside Avenue, became concerned when her son did not show up for classes, and attempted to contact Parler. When Parler did not answer, the school contacted the man's aunt, who called Parler.
Parler allegedly told authorities that her son was in Maryland with her.
A passerby spotted the man, who has cerebral palsy and is nonverbal, at around 9pm on Friday and contacted police.
"They found [him] about 100 yards off the roadway here, laying in leaves," Philadelphia Police Lt John Walker reported. "He's got a blanket over him and a Bible on his chest. He has a wheelchair about 10 feet from his body."
He was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and treated for dehydration, malnutrition, a cut on his back, an eye injury, and exposure.
"A lot of things could've happened out there," Walker said. "Obviously he's in the middle of a wooded area. You have wild animals out there. You never know what's going to happen."
Parler, 41, was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment, neglect of a care-dependent person, unlawful restraint, kidnapping and false imprisonment.
She was in the hospital on Sunday receiving treatment for an unknown condition.