Bandera Woman Charged for Abandoning Autistic Teenage Daughter
In a deeply unsettling incident, a woman identified as Natalie Rose Munno, 38, from Bandera, Texas, was arrested and charged with abandonment and endangerment of a child, a third-degree felony. She is accused of leaving her 15-year-old autistic daughter in a dumpster area in San Antonio and then driving off.
Incident Details
On June 13, the San Antonio police received a distress call about a teenager found in an enclosed dumpster area in a shopping center near Loop 1604 and Potranco Road. Responding officers reported that the girl was autistic, non-verbal, and her diaper was overflowing with feces. The teen was rushed to a hospital where she received treatment for multiple days due to bruising on her left hand and severe dehydration.
Investigation and Arrest
Following the discovery of the teenager, the girl’s grandmother contacted the Bandera County Sheriff’s Office to express concern that her grandchild and daughter had not returned home. An initial interview with Munno was conducted, which raised red flags leading to the issuance of an AMBER Alert for the missing adolescent on June 18. Shortly after the alert, word reached officials that the teenager had already been located, leading to the cancellation of the alert.
On June 26, a crucial piece of evidence surfaced. A surveillance video from the location where the teen had been found was handed over to police. This video showed Munno arriving at the location, extracting her daughter from the car, and walking her to the dumpster area. The affidavit issued by the authorities states that Munno placed her daughter behind open metal doors leading to the dumpster area and then closed the doors, leaving her daughter inside. She then returned to her vehicle and left the scene. Later, Starbucks employees discovered the girl.
Five days after showing the surveillance video to the adolescent’s grandmother, she successfully identified both Munno and her vehicle. The authorities issued an arrest warrant for Munno on August 1. Munno was arrested on charges of child abandonment and endangerment, a third-degree felony, on Sunday.