HOUSTON — A woman is facing charges after authorities said she left her 8-year-old granddaughter alone in a Houston airport on Tuesday.
Euceda Maldonado, 51, is accused of leaving the girl by herself at Terminal A at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. She's charged with abandoning a child with no intent to return.
"Three airline employees noticed a child crying in Terminal A ... crying out for her parents," Houston Airport System communications director Augusto Bernal said.
Officials said Maldonado left her and boarded a plane, leaving the child alone and afraid at one of the biggest and busiest airports in the country.
"Allegedly, her grandmother (Maldonado) was flying out to Honduras," Bernal said.
Airport officials said the child's parents were with them but they had to leave because they forgot the child's passport. They said they left the girl in the care of her grandmother.
"Children shouldn't be by themselves in an airport terminal," Bernal said.
Airport security, Houston police and other agencies were able to locate and reunite the child with her parents. They said the child was left with her father's phone number.
"Eventually, the grandmother, which was on this flight to Honduras, was removed from the airplane to go meet with the child. It's also our understanding that the parents of the child came back to the airport," Bernal said.
Maldonado was given a $200 bond.
Airport officials said that if you see a child alone at the airport, it's best to notify airport staff as soon as possible.