KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- A family friend claims two sisters may have been confused about which of them was supposed to be watching their children, but Knox County Sheriff’s Detectives and Children's Services investigators have seen enough to remove the baby and three toddlers
from their mothers.

So far, nobody's facing charges, so neither the Sheriff nor Children's Services will release any names, but they say it's not the family's first round of trouble managing babies and toddlers.

Friday morning a 2-year-old boy had wandered across the road to his uncle's house, and his 10-month old stepbrother “was found in the middle of the road without a diaper,” according to Knox County Sheriff’s Spokesman Martha Dooley.

It happened on Mascot Road, two narrow lanes of heavy traffic with a blind curve only yards away.

Dooley says, “The mother and grandmother are staying. The mother is going to move in here. They left, early (Friday) morning, thought the aunt was taking care of the babies.”

Sheriff's detectives and Children's Services aren't saying what the aunt or the mother told them about how the children might have gotten out.

But Dooley says “The aunt was still asleep when everybody came to the door.”

The father of one of the boys, 23-year-old Jamie L. Hardwick, is serving time in Sevier County for child abuse and neglect, according to the Sevier County Sheriff’s Department, but a relative of the children says the charge was child endangerment.

Dooley says, “The neighbors have told us that they have seen the children unattended in the yard before.”

Off camera, several neighbors told us they are shocked to hear about what happened,

Investigators questioned the children's mother, aunt, and other family members for hours before preparing the children to be taken into custody.

Children's Services has taken the 10-month-old baby, his 2-year-old stepbrother, and their cousins, which are another 2-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl.

DCS will conduct an “assessment” of the home.

Sheriff's investigators aren't saying how long that might take, but Dooley says two of the children are staying with other family members.