Mother accused of giving her 2-year-old daughter to suspected drug dealer

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma (KOKH) – An Oklahoma woman is facing charges after allegedly giving her 2-year-old daughter to a suspected drug dealer.

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

According to court documents, an investigation that began in April 2022 at an apartment complex in Moore found that a child had not been seen for several years.

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

Rowland told authorities her daughter was in Georgia with her father, but authorities determined she was lying. In a second statement, she told police that she gave her daughter, who was 2 years old at the time, to a man from whom she bought meth and that she was using drugs heavily at the time she gave the child to someone else.

He identified the man as “Carlos,” who said he was going back to Mexico when he last saw him in April 2022. She said this was also the last time she saw her daughter.

Rowland was booked into the Oklahoma County Jail last week. Authorities were working to raise his bail to $100,000, but he was able to post bail before then.

DHS could not release any details about the case, per policy, but said in a statement: “Situations like those described in this affidavit are heartbreaking and unimaginable. “The agency is grateful to our law enforcement partners for their continued work to find him and seek justice in his disappearance.”

Rowland is expected to appear in court again on January 6 for a hearing. Court officials said the woman will have to post a $100,000 bond at that time or remain in custody.

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