Iowa Mom Blames K2 Marijuana for Losing Her Child for Hours

The mother who lost custody of her two young children after losing track of her 5-year-year old at a park for hours blames the synthetic marijuana drug, K2. 

Danille Clinton was at Union Park in Des Moines in June with her 5-year-old son, Elijah, and her 18-month-old daughter, Delilah. Elijah was out playing, while mom watched baby sleep in the car, but she lost track of Elijah, she said. 

"Prior in the day, I had been smoking that K2, which is very dangerous," Clinton, of West Des Moines, told KCCI. "The person I had been with for 4-5 months was smoking that, and I started smoking that.  It makes your memory go."

She said she got out of the car and called his name, but couldn't find him. She drove around looking for him, and had to stop for gas. Police said it was six hours before she called to report him missing, but she contends three hours. 

"Because of this drug, I want people to know it is horrible," Clinton told KCCI. "I felt like I was searching for him forever or a very short time, yet it was a longer time than I thought."

Meanwhile, Des Moines police said the shirtless, shoeless Elijah wandered up to a birthday party at around 2 p.m. and the family played with and fed the child for several hours, before contacting police.

It wasn't until 7:30 p.m. that Clinton's husband called police, and then at 8 p.m., Clinton did, police said. 

Clinton was charged with child endangerment and jailed for 40 days, and is not allowed to have contact with her children. She said she is working to get her children back, and that starts with not smoking K2. 

"It is very, very hard for me every day. I think about them and miss them to death. It is the longest I have ever been away from me," Clinton told KCCI.