Mom 'happy and blessed' to have children back home

It was time for some grocery shopping, but Aaron Owens, 4, wanted no part of it, and so under the kitchen table he went.

"Your clothes are going to be dirty before the party starts," his mother, Chatel Chase, told him Thursday. And she laughed.

These are the types of problems a young mother likes to have.

Three weeks ago, Aaron wandered off -- without a shirt and shoes -- into a cold St. Paul night, and he and his 20-month-old sister, Lydera Owens, were placed in protective custody and their mother was arrested.

The next day, she was released, but the kids weren't returned by child-protection authorities until Thursday morning. "I'm just very happy and blessed that they're back," Chase said.

On Nov. 15, at 1 a.m., Chase, 25, stepped out of the house to pick up a friend, leaving the kids home alone in a bedroom with a heater on. She thought she'd be gone about 15 minutes, she has said. But she got lost, and a quick trip ended up taking about an hour.

By then, according to police, Aaron had walked out of the house and kept walking, until he was spotted by an officer about 1½ miles from home. Chase returned to find a squad car. She never was charged, according to the Ramsey County attorney's office.

But as a college student working two jobs, Chase soon found her story resonating with people, and she received gifts and some modest financial assistance. For the past three weeks, she said Thursday, she was allowed one visit per week, at a neutral site, for an hour.

Now, with the kids back, the Christmas tree can be decorated. But first, Chase said, there was shopping to do. Friends were expected Thursday night, she said, for a welcome-home party.

"Should we get a cake?" she asked Aaron. He didn't say.

From the looks of it, there was too much running around the kitchen to do first.

Anthony Lonetree • 651-298-1545