Mother Facing Child Abuse Charges After Boys Found Hiding Inside Burning Home

DENVER (CBS4) - A 30-year-old Denver mother is under arrest and facing felony child abuse charges after a fire last month that injured two of her children.

Police say Rocio Arroyo-Reyes, 30, left her two young boys home alone on the day the fire broke out. Neighbors told CBS4 the boys are about 2 and 4 years old.

Firefighters wound up rescuing the children after arriving at the triplex on the morning of Sept. 29 and finding it in flames. The home is located on the 350 block of South Eliot Street.

Authorities said the boys were apparently hiding inside and it took two different sweeps of the home to locate them. At the time, a Denver fire spokesperson said the children were "found in really inconspicuous places."

Arroyo-Reyes collapsed on the street when she returned to her home and saw what had happened.

According to court documents, she told investigators she had only been away from the home for about five minutes on an errand when she got a text alerting her about the fire. She allegedly told police she was taking an older child to get medication. Both of the toddlers suffered serious injuries and spent several days in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Denver Health.

Neighbors told CBS4 they saw Arroyo-Reyes leave her children home alone several times. They also said they are pleased to hear she is facing felony charges.

The cause of the fire is still undetermined.

The boys are now out of the hospital, according to Denver police. Arroyo-Reyes is expected to appear in court next week.

Kelly Werthmann joined the CBS4 team in 2012 as the morning reporter, covering national stories like the Aurora Theater Shooting and devastating Colorado wildfires. She now reports for CBS4 News at 10 and is always open to story ideas. Connect with her on Facebook or Twitter @KellyCBS4.