OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) – An Oklahoma woman is facing charges for allegedly giving her 2-year-old daughter to an alleged drug dealer.

Ashley Rowland was arrested for child abandonment in October after she allegedly told police she gave her 2-year-old daughter to a man she bought meth from in 2022. She was later released on bail.

According to court documents, the investigation began at an apartment complex in Moore in April 2022, where it was learned that a child had not been seen in several years.

A year later, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services obtained a lift order. Although they were unable to find the girl, they were able to locate her mother, Rowland, with the help of the Moore Police Department.

Rowland told officials her daughter was with her father in Georgia, but authorities determined she lied. During the second interview, she told police that she gave her daughter, who was 2 at the time, to a man she was buying meth from and that she was high on drugs at the time she gave the child away.

She identified the man as “Carlos,” who told her he was returning to Mexico the last time she saw him in April 2022. She says that was also the last time she saw her daughter.

Rowland was booked into the Oklahoma County Jail last week. Authorities were working to raise her bail to $100,000, but she was able to post bond before that.

DHS was unable to discuss any specifics of the case as a matter of policy, but said in a statement: “Situations such as those described in this affidavit are heartbreaking and unimaginable. The agency is grateful to our law enforcement partners for their continued work to find her and as they seek justice in her disappearance.”

Rowland is due back in court Jan. 6 for an arraignment. Court officials say he will have to post a $100,000 bond at that time or remain in custody.

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