A mother is in a southern Minnesota jail, accused of being on the run from a foster home for nearly a week with her two small children.
Reina M. Gandarilla, 21, left the Blue Earth County foster facility on Nov. 27 with 2-year-old Isiaah Gandarilla and 4-month-old Iyanna Gandarilla.
Authorities issued a national alert as part of their search for the three.
Early Monday afternoon, Gandarilla contacted the Sheriff's Office from the Budget Host Motel in Mankato and said she wanted to turn herself in.
She was arrested on a warrant of depriving custodial or parental rights.
Her two children were in good health, the Sheriff's Office said, and were placed in foster care.
The children had been placed in foster care in October, but last month the order was modified and the mother and her children placed in the same foster home as part of "Whole Family Foster Care." That program's goal is for a family to make the transition toward living together again on their own.
PAUL WALSH
