In Custody: Arkansas Mother Fled to California with Her 8 Children After Abducting Them from Their Foster Homes, Cops Say

An Arkansas woman allegedly abducted her eight children from their foster homes before driving them across the country to California, where they were located and she was apprehended, according to authorities.

Around 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 21, a concerned citizen in Anderson, California, phoned police after seeing six children in a pickup truck driven by a “woman displaying bizarre behavior,” according to the Anderson Police Department.

Officers responding to the scene found a truck filled with trash that had Arkansas license plates.

The officers identified the driver as 36-year-old Trista Fullerton, who had a felony warrant from Arkansas for abducting her eight children, authorities said.

Fullerton was placed under arrest and when police interviewed her about the location of the other two allegedly abducted children, they learned they were at a residence in the Cottonwood area. With the help of the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, officers found the other two children, according to officials.

The arrest warrants show Fullerton was the biological mother of all eight children, but she had lost custodial rights.

Officials did not provide further details on when the children were abducted or when Fullerton lost custodial rights. The children's age range was also not disclosed.

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Fullerton was booked into the Shasta County Jail, and she is expected to be extradited to Arkansas, officials said.

According to the Anderson Police Department, all eight children were handed over to Shasta County Children and Family Services and will be reunited with their guardians in Arkansas.