The mother of the 4-year-old girl who was the focus of a nationwide search until found at Morning Star Ranch, a retreat and rehabilitation center in Valley Center, Calif., earlier this week, agreed Thursday to be returned to Ohio, where she will likely face criminal charges.
Candace Watson, 24, and her boyfriend, wanted sex offender Robbie Potter, 27, were found and arrested Tuesday in Valley Center, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Watson and Potter had been on the run for more than a month with Watson’s 4-year-old daughter, Haylee Donathan.
Potter, who was recently released from prison for sexual battery on a minor, was living in a halfway house and was not allowed to be around children.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Potter left a halfway house in Ohio and disappeared with Watson and Haylee, the Union-Tribune reported.
Watson, who remains in San Diego, was ordered to be held without bail until law officials from Ohio come to get her.
According to the Union-Tribune, federal officials said a warrant was issued Thursday and that Watson would be charged in federal court with harboring or concealing a fugitive.
Potter appeared in federal court Wednesday. A bail hearing is scheduled for Monday.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Omar Castillo told the Union-Tribune that Haylee appeared to have a mild case of chickenpox, but was otherwise in good spirits. He added that Haylee will be handed over to her grandmother.
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