SAN ANTONIO – A Bandera woman drove to San Antonio where she abandoned her teenage autistic daughter in a dumpster area and drove off, an arrest warrant affidavit said.
On June 13, San Antonio police received a call about a 15-year-old girl who was found abandoned inside an enclosed dumpster area in a shopping center near Loop 1604 and Potranco Road. The officer who responded to the call reported that the girl was autistic, non-verbal and her diaper was full of feces, the affidavit said. The girl was taken to a hospital where she was treated for multiple days for dehydration and bruising on her left hand.
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The next day, the girl’s grandmother called the Bandera County Sheriff’s Office to report that the teen and her mother had not returned home. A missing report was filed due to the grandmother being concerned.
A sheriff’s office detective found the girl’s mother, Natalie Rose Munno, 38, and interviewed her about her missing daughter. The detective at the time didn’t know that the girl had been found. Following the interview, and suspecting that something was wrong, an AMBER Alert was issued for the teen on June 18. Soon after the Alert was issued, it came word that the teen was found and it was canceled.
On June 26, police were provided with surveillance video of where the teenager was found. The video showed Munno parking her vehicle and getting her daughter out from the back passenger seat and walking her to the dumpster area, the affidavit said. Munno then placed her daughter behind the metal doors that were open which led to the enclosed area that contained the dumpsters. Munno then closed the metal doors with her daughter inside the dumpster area, the affidavit states. Munno then returned to her vehicle and drove off, the affidavit said. The girl was found a few hours later by some Starbucks employees.
Five days later, the teen’s grandmother was shown the video and she was able to identify the teen and Munno, her daughter, in addition to the car.
An affidavit for Munno’s arrest was issued on Aug. 1. Munno was arrested Sunday and charged with abandonment and endangerment of a child, a third-degree felony.