Mother Who Allegedly Abandoned Child at Gas Station Located, Arrested

Bay City News Service

Vallejo police have located a woman who allegedly abandoned her young son in a gas station bathroom earlier today and arrested her on charges of child endangerment.

Joia Hulkill, 22, was located at a residence on the first block of Wilshire Avenue in Vallejo this evening and arrested on suspicion of child endangerment and child abandonment, Lt. John Whitney said.

Hulkill was located after police released surveillance video images this evening showing a woman who abandoned a child in the bathroom of a Chevron at 400 Lincoln Road. Police were called to the gas station around 5:15 p.m. after the boy was discovered.

Security video at the gas station shows a woman who wheeled the child in a stroller into the bathroom, stayed for approximately nine minutes and then left on foot.

She woman was last seen walking toward Benicia Road. The boy is thought to have been alone in the bathroom for around an hour before he was discovered, Whitney said.

The woman is described as white or Hispanic, in her mid 20s, with dark hair. She was wearing a black tank top and light colored shorts and carrying a large white pursue.

The boy is described as a Hispanic male juvenile with brown hair and brown eyes. He was found wearing a white tank top, blue plaid shorts and blue and white shoes, and appears to be around 1 year old.

Police are asking anyone with information on Hulkill or the child to contact them.