On June 13, 2024, San Antonio Police dispatch received a call regarding a 15-year-old girl who was found abandoned inside an enclosed dumpster area at a shopping center near Loop 1604 and Potranco Road. The responding officer reported that the girl was autistic, non-verbal, and wearing a diaper full of feces. She was taken to a hospital, where she received treatment for several days for dehydration and bruising on her left hand.
The following day, the girl's grandmother contacted the Bandera County Sheriff's Office to report that the teen and her mother had not returned home. A missing person report was filed due to the grandmother's concern. A Bandera County detective later identified the girl's mother as 38-year-old Natalie Rose Munno of Bandera. During an interview with Munno, the detective, unaware that the autistic girl had been found, became suspicious that something was amiss. On June 18, an AMBER Alert was issued for the teenager. The alert was soon canceled after authorities received word that the teen had already been found.
Police obtained surveillance footage from the area where the girl was discovered. The video showed Munno parking her vehicle, retrieving her daughter from the back passenger seat, and leading her to the dumpster area. Munno placed her daughter behind the metal doors that led to the enclosed dumpster area, closed the doors, and drove away, abandoning her daughter. The girl was found a few hours later by employees at a nearby Starbucks.
Munno was arrested on August 4 and charged with abandonment and endangerment of a child. The case against her is currently pending.
