Police: Caretaker of disabled 8-year-old abandoned boy found

HARRIS COUNTY – The caretaker police said abandoned an 8-year-old disabled boy in north Harris County has been found in the Arizona desert.

Deputies with the Precinct 4 Constable's Office were called to a home in the 13900 block of Dentwood on Thursday. 

Upon arrival, deputies said they found the front door open and the boy in a bed. The boy had a feeding tube that was removed by emergency personnel, and was reported to be in good condition.

Authorities contacted the boy's mother Shannon Brock who said she started imagining the worst.  "I didn't know if he was alive or he was dead," said Brock. "To see the police officers and ambulance drivers and all of the lights and cars and people in the house it drove me crazy." 

Brock said her disabled son Jaquirias was left in Sandra Sue Blackburn's care earlier in the day.  Blackburn was a caregiver the boy's mother hired 18 months ago through the Epic Health Care Company.

The mother also reported to police that her son was born at 23 weeks and suffered brain damage.

Officials said Blackburn never came back to the home and attempts to reach her at her residence and by phone were unsuccessful.

The Precinct 4 Constables Office said Blackburn was found in the desert outside of Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday. Officials said she was lying on top of a car and was dehydrated when she was discovered.

Blackburn was taken to a hospital in Phoenix in unknown condition.  She faces a charge of abandoning or endangering a child out of Harris County, and officers plan to extradite her back to the Houston area.

Brock said she needs to know why the worker she treated like family would possibly put Jaquirias at risk. "If she wanted to leave or something was going on, she should have told me," said Brock.