Mom, children spend 10 hours in bitter cold after fleeing police in Thiensville

By Kristin Pierce

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    THIENSVILLE, Wisconsin (WISN) — According to a criminal complaint, 47-year-old Angelica Saragosa had her two young children outside in the cold for 10 hours. Investigators say when it happened on Feb. 19, the feels-like temperature was -19.

Saragosa is facing several charges, including physical abuse of a child, neglecting a child and battery.

The incident happened around 8:30 p.m. near Crescent Lane and Oakwood Drive in Thiensville. Prosecutors say Saragosa confronted her boyfriend about his ex-wife before hitting him “repeatedly in the face,” causing him to temporarily lose sight in his left eye and causing a laceration to his upper lip.

An officer observed the man with a bloody mouth.

After the man’s father called police, the mom took off with her two children, a 7-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl.

The next day, prosecutors say the three went to a home for help. Saragosa told police “she and the children were outside for the last 10 hours.” An officer watched the “children’s uncontrollable trembling to last for approximately 45 minutes, despite being covered with dry warmed blankets, warmed socks, and an electric heater being placed nearby,” according to the complaint.

The two children were taken to a hospital for treatment for extremely low body temperature and carbon monoxide exposure. Saragosa told investigators she and her two children ran through backyards and hid until she did not hear police anymore, then curled up next to the furnace exhaust vent at the home of the alleged battery.

If convicted on one of the more serious charges, Saragosa faces up to six years in prison.

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