LAPD Finds Family Of Boy Abandoned At Union Station; Mom Arrested

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) —  Police say the mother of a young boy abandoned at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday has been taken into custody.

Dava Denise Webster, 31, was booked on a charge of felony child endangerment Thursday.

The LAPD announced that investigators had located family members of the seven-year-old boy found wandering Union Station on Wednesday night, and that an arrest has been made in the case.

The Webster was at the Los Angeles Police Department's Central Station being questioned by detectives.

Investigators say the boy was initially believed to be deaf and possibly autistic, and his inability to communicate hampered the investigation into how he ended up attended and who had left him at the station.

An American Sign Language interpreter was summoned to try to communicate with the boy, but was unsuccessful, said LAPD Sgt. Hector Guzman.

Metro officials released a surveillance photo of Webster walking with the boy at Union Station.

The boy was discovered in front of Cafe Crepe around 7 p.m. Wednesday. An LAPD officer says that when he confronted Webster who apparently left him there, she refused to talk to him and left.

A cafe worker told police Webster and her son sat at a table for about 30 minutes before she left.

Witness Adrienne Garrett told CBS2 News the woman tried to talk to Webster to no avail before calling police.

"It's really upsetting that someone would just leave [...] a cute little boy just by himself," Garrett said. "I just couldn't imagine just walking out without coming back for someone so special."

Garrett said the boy didn't panic when Webster left him alone.

"He was still smiling, still playing around, didn't necessarily seem afraid, at all, or abandoned," said Garrett.

The boy is now under a relative's care.