Mother of 12-year-old boy found alone in Walmart arrested

WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) – The WFPD investigated a case of child abandonment after a 12-year-old boy was found wandering inside a Walmart by employees approximately one hour after it closed on Sunday, June 16, 2024.

Shortly after midnight on Sunday, police were called to the Walmart on Lawrence Road and employees told police they found a child after the store closed at 11 p.m. on Saturday.

They said the boy told them he was at the store with his mother, Candace Marie Elder, who went to the restroom. He waited and looked for her when she didn’t return. Arrest records show Elder has an address in Lawton.

On Thursday, June 20, 2024, a search warrant was issued for Elder and on Friday, June 21, 2024, Elder was arrested.

Police and Walmart employees searched the restrooms and the entire store, but there was no sign of the mother. Surveillance footage inside the store showed the boy wandering around alone in various locations until he was found after the store closed. A review of exterior cameras also showed the boy walking alone through the Panda Express parking lot around 7:45 p.m. on Saturday.

Child Protective Services was called to take the child into emergency custody and an investigation was launched for a crime against children.

According to court documents, the CPS investigator assigned to the boy’s case spoke with him, and the boy told the investigator that he was with his mother at a store in Wichita Falls near Highway 79 before the Walmart incident.

The victim stated that he accidentally broke some items in the warehouse, which upset Elder.

To avoid incriminating his mother, the victim said that at around 7:45 p.m., while driving down Lawrence Road, Elder got out of the vehicle in front of Panda Express and entered Walmart.

According to the CPS investigator, Elder told the victim that he was 12 years old and capable of taking care of himself, and if he needed help, he could find his way to his father, who reportedly lives in Sacramento, California.

According to the affidavit, Elder stated that the boy was destroying things and talking back. She also stated that the victim was going to move in with his father and was getting out of the vehicle at that moment. At that point, Elder stated that her son was 12 years old and old enough to be independent.

According to the affidavit, the victim never met his father and does not have his contact information.

Elder said she does not live in Texas, refused to give the CPS investigator her address and said she did not need to deal with the courts. Elder also stated she grew up in the foster care system and the boy will be fine, court documents say.

Court documents also state that Candace admitted to CPS that she left the victim in Wichita Falls and left the state.

Elder was arrested and charged with abandoning or endangering a child with no intent to return. She is being held in the Wichita County Jail on bail set at $100,000.