OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – A woman in Oklahoma has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of her daughter, who vanished over two years ago. Authorities allege that she handed her young daughter to a man in exchange for drugs.

Ashley Rowland, 39, faces charges of child abandonment following her recent arrest. Law enforcement reports indicate that her daughter, who would now be five years old, has been missing since 2022, with no confirmed sightings since then.

Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) agents had attempted to locate the toddler in April 2023 but came up empty-handed. Their search eventually led them to Rowland in Moore, a suburb of Oklahoma City. Rowland allegedly told DHS that her daughter was staying with her father in Georgia at the time.

However, subsequent investigations revealed inconsistencies in Rowland’s statement. Under police questioning, Rowland reportedly confessed to giving her daughter to a man named Carlos in 2022. Rowland claimed uncertainty regarding the man’s identity, speculating he might be the child’s father yet acknowledging she had no real knowledge of this fact.

Rowland is further accused of admitting she hadn’t seen her daughter since relinquishing her to Carlos, who at that time was allegedly providing her with methamphetamine. Rowland provided no substantial details about the man, only suggesting he might have left for Mexico without any identification papers for the girl.

Authorities are deeply concerned about the whereabouts of the child, now five, uncertain whether she remains in the U.S. or is in harm’s way. “This is a very active case,” Moore Police commented, urging public cooperation in locating the missing child.

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services expressed their inability to discuss specific details but described the situation as both “heartbreaking and unimaginable.”

Meanwhile, Rowland is held at the Oklahoma County Detention Center on a $3,000 bond pending further legal proceedings.