Copperas Cove Couple Arrested After 12-Year-Old Left Alone
A 12-year-old boy returning from school on October 17 found his Primrose Drive apartment empty after his mother and her boyfriend moved out without telling him, prompting a neighbor to call police. The Copperas Cove Police Department arrested Keven Dwayne Adams and Erica Renee Sanders on charges of abandoning or endangering a child, a case that has raised local concerns about child-welfare safeguards and neighborhood vigilance.
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A routine walk home from school turned into a criminal investigation for a 12-year-old Copperas Cove student on Friday, October 17, when he arrived at his Primrose Drive apartment to find it vacated. A neighbor who responded to the boy's call for help contacted police, and officers confirmed the residence had been cleared out. The Copperas Cove Police Department then reached the child's mother, identified in police records as Erica Renee Sanders, and her boyfriend, Keven Dwayne Adams, by phone. Authorities say the couple falsely told officers that an uncle would retrieve the child; the uncle did not appear and Police and Child Protective Services were unable to confirm a new address for the couple.
Police arrested Adams and Sanders on charges of abandoning or endangering a child without intent to return, according to department records cited in a FOX44 News report published October 21, 2025. Child Protective Services was notified and attempted to engage with the couple, but the records indicate no cooperation on providing a current residence for follow-up. A neighbor who alerted police told investigators the couple had a history of kicking the boy out, a claim that police noted during their initial investigation.
The incident has underscored immediate child-safety questions in Coryell County, particularly for families in Copperas Cove, a community with close ties to Fort Cavazos. While the facts of this case are limited to the initial police response, the episode highlights possible gaps in the local safety net for at-risk children, from after-school supervision to the speed and efficacy of protective services when a child is effectively left unsupervised.
For residents, the case raises practical concerns about community responsibility and the role of neighbors, schools and social services. The boy returned from school before the situation was discovered, pointing to potential challenges for schools in identifying and reporting students at immediate risk between dismissal and a caregiver's presence. Child Protective Services and law enforcement now face follow-up tasks that could shape local policy attention: confirming whether the abandonment is an isolated incident, determining the child's short- and long-term placement, and pursuing court action against the adults involved.
Beyond the immediate criminal case, the episode may prompt local officials and service providers to review protocols for rapidly coordinating school staff, police and CPS when a student appears endangered at dismissal. Public records cited by FOX44 show that Copperas Cove police acted quickly once notified, but key information remains outstanding: the child's current placement, any pending court dates for Adams and Sanders, and the outcome of CPS inquiries.
As the community awaits those developments, the case serves as a reminder of the fragile intersections between family stability, economic or relational strain, and institutional capacity to protect children. Follow-up reporting will be needed to trace court outcomes, CPS findings and any policy changes that might arise from this high-profile local incident.