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New Jersey Mom Abandons 10-Year-Old Son With Special Needs in Woods: Police

A 10-year-old boy with special needs was found wandering in the woods near a New Jersey military base after his mother allegedly walked him there with his luggage and left him there, state police say.

A passing driver spotted the boy in a wooded area near the visitor's center at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst near Trenton last Thursday, according to New Jersey state police. The driver contacted military personnel, who brought the boy into the visitor's center and evaluated him. 

The boy was given food and water there, and military first responders found he had minor injuries. 

He told the workers there that his mother had walked him into the woods with his luggage and left him there. He said he fell asleep and woke up hungry.

The boy was able to give his mother's name and phone number to the workers, who called her, police said. 

State police responded and brought him to Bordentown station, where Division of Child Protection and Permanency workers took custody of him and found a temporary home for him.

The boy's mother, 39-year-old Debra Wisler of Millville City, told police that when she found out her son wasn't eligibile for a children's program at Joint Base McGuire-Dix, she walked him to the nearby wooded area and left him there.

She was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

She has been released pending a future court date. It wasn't immediately clear if she had an attorney who could comment on the charges. 

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