Child Protective Services is trying to figure out why eight children in Dallas were left alone in a home and later dropped off at a fire station.
CPS investigators have located and are talking with the mother of the eight children, aged 3 to 12, who were reportedly left alone Sunday morning at a house in Oak Cliff.
Police said two women who described themselves as acquaintances from church had gone over to the family's house to check on the children and did not find their mother at the house.
Around 7 a.m., the women dropped the children off at the fire station at 745 West Illinois in Dallas.
Dallas Fire-Rescue told NBC 5 that the children were at the station for about 40 minutes before police and Child Protective Services responded. Firefighters fed and entertained the children before they were taken into custody.
The children could not tell investigators how long they had been on their own.
All eight siblings are now in foster care and in good health. The children will remain in foster care temporarily while the investigation continues, according to CPS spokesperson Marissa Gonzales.
Investigators would not comment on what, if any, explanation was provided by the mother for leaving the children. CPS did not reveal if the mother would face charges.
NBC 5's Reginald Hardwick, Catherine Ross, and Kendra Lyn contributed to this report.
Photo Credit: NBC 5