A Fort Worth-area foster mother is facing serious felony charges after a neighbor in Anson, Texas, found a 22-year-old woman with physical and mental disabilities locked inside an outdoor dog kennel on November 22. In a video captured by the neighbor, the woman can be heard screaming and begging for help as she pushes against the fencing of the kennel. Officers pulled her from the backyard and say she is now under protective care while investigators dig into what happened. The caregiver was arrested and booked into the Jones County Jail.
Neighbor Justin Anderson recorded the encounter and called police, according to Majic 94.5, then shared the video with local television outlets. Officers said the young woman had been confined in a wire kennel covered with tarps and secured with a latch. She has since been placed with relatives while Adult Protective Services arranges longer-term care. Neighbors identified the caregiver as Kandice "Kandy" Thompson, who was taken into custody following the police response.
Neighbor’s Video Prompted Rapid Police Response
Anson Police Chief Daniel Graziose told reporters that officers arrived to find a 22-year-old woman locked in the backyard, while two other adult foster residents were inside the home, according to the Daily Caller. In the neighbor’s recording, the woman says she is scared and needs to use the bathroom, and the footage shows a fenced kennel secured with a small lock.
Police said Thompson was first arrested on counts of assault and injury to a disabled person. After additional interviews and a closer review of the evidence, investigators obtained more serious aggravated kidnapping warrants, according to the Daily Caller.
Long Foster History Raises Oversight Concerns
Neighbors and past reporting say Thompson and her late husband, a former small-town police chief, fostered more than 50 children over the years, a track record that has sharpened questions about how foster and adult placements are monitored in rural communities, according to La Opinión. Disability advocates told local outlets that putting a disabled adult in an outdoor kennel, if proven, would amount to severe abuse and a complete failure of caregiving standards.
Neighbors said Thompson told them she used the kennel as punishment for behavior such as urinating inside the house, a claim advocates and critics have flatly rejected as having no legitimate place in caregiving.
Legal Stakes for the Caregiver
Anson police and local reporting say Thompson now faces charges that include aggravated kidnapping and injury to a disabled person, among other counts, according to the Daily Caller. Under Texas law, aggravated kidnapping is generally a first-degree felony that can carry a sentence ranging from five years to life in prison. Injury to a disabled individual can also be charged as a felony, with penalties that vary based on intent and the extent of harm.
The statutory language and possible punishments are outlined in Sec. 20.04 and Sec. 22.04 of the Texas Penal Code.
Neighbors and Advocates Call for Action
In the neighbor’s video, Anderson can be heard reassuring the woman that help has arrived as he comforts her, an intervention many locals say likely prevented the situation from getting even worse, according to Majic 94.5. Anson police say the investigation is still active, and Adult Protective Services is working with the victim and her family while prosecutors weigh the evidence.
Thompson remains in the Jones County Jail on multiple warrants as investigators continue gathering statements and reviewing video. Some of the charges were expanded after officers evaluated additional interviews and footage, according to Yahoo. Neighbors and advocates are now pushing for tighter oversight of adult foster and caregiver placements while authorities move forward with the criminal case.
