WATCH | Woman dumps toddler at stranger's door - then runs away

A woman is suspected of child abandonment for hoisting a two-year-old boy by the arm to the house of a stranger in a northern Houston suburb, ringing the doorbell and running away, authorities said on Thursday.

The incident was captured on video surveillance and lasted 23 seconds. The video ends with the woman getting into a car that speeds away from the scene.

A woman who answered the door found the child she had never seen before, along with two bags and no adult, the sheriff's office said.

"The child is uninjured and appears to be in good health," it said.

Deputies from Montgomery County canvassed the area in an attempt to find anyone who knew the child but were unable to locate anyone at the time and the child was released into the custody of child protective services.  

A reporter who joined the efforts discovered that the neighbour was in fact the father of the child. During an interview with detectives, it was learnt he had received a text from the mother advising the toddler was going to be dropped off by a friend of hers.

When the child did not show up, the father assumed the mother’s plans had changed and left his home.

It turns out the woman dropped the toddler off at the wrong house then left before confirming anyone was home. 

According to an ABC News report, the friend is being charged with child endangerment while the parents were 'furious'.