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Parents charged after 2 children found wandering alone

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GADSDEN COUNTY, FL (WTXL) - Three people have been arrested after deputies found their toddlers wandering alone in the middle of a major highway in Quincy, both of them soiled, dirty, and barefoot.

Alexus Addison, 24, Angelica Addison, 22, and Tony Smith, 23, have all been arrested for their role in the incident.

According to the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office, they responded to a call Sunday around 11 a.m. about two children in the middle of Bainbridge Highway.

The children, who deputies report were two and three years old, were found by Good Samaritans who stopped to make sure the kids were okay before calling GCSO. 

When deputies arrived, they found both children soiled, dirty, and barefoot. They note that one of the children only had on a diaper and one looked sick, so they were transported by EMS to the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

Eventually, GCSO learned that the children had wandered away from a home on Powell Street but when they went to check the home, deputies say nobody was there.

Based on an investigation, GCSO found probable cause to arrest the 2-year-old's mother, Angelica Addison, and her boyfriend, Smith. Deputies say Smith gave Angelica a ride to work that morning and never returned home.

Alexus Addison, the mother of the 3-year-old, was arrested Monday around 11 a.m. 

The children have since been released from TMH and are doing well. DCF has helped facilitate putting the children in alternate housing.

All three adults were charged with two counts of child abuse and two counts of culpable negligence. Angelica Addison and Smith are being held in the Gadsden County Jail on a $50,000 while Alexus is being held without bond.

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