Girl found in Alabama motel room with man had been dropped off by a parent, cops say

Deputies searching a north Alabama motel found two “underage females” in rooms with men after one of the girls had been dropped off by a parent, according to the Walker County Sheriff’s Office.

That same parent also rented the motel room, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

The discovery was made Monday, Jan. 9, after “a concerned family member” called the sheriff’s office to report an underage relative might be meeting a man at the motel, officials said. Walker County is northwest of Birmingham.

“During the investigation, two underage females were discovered to be in separate rooms, each one with an adult male,” the sheriff’s office said. “It was determined that a parent of one of the underage females drove the girl to the motel, rented the room, then left the child unattended at some point.”

The two men were arrested at the motel after deputies learned they were wanted on unrelated charges by the Jasper Police Department in Walker County, officials said.

The parent who dropped off one of the girls was also arrested and faces a charge of endangering the welfare of a child, the sheriff’s office said.

Identities of the men were not released, and investigators did not say why the juveniles were left alone with them.

“This is a very heartbreaking situation, and thinking about this entire situation will make anyone physically sick —especially another parent,” the sheriff’s office said. “The amount of trauma and mental anguish that these girls have and will endure in the future is troubling to say the least.”

This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 7:33 AM with the headline "Girl found in Alabama motel room with man had been dropped off by a parent, cops say."