An Oklahoma couple has been arrested on abuse allegations regarding a young girl who has been missing for three years. London Kerr was a toddler at the time of her alleged disappearance. Now her mother and her mother’s boyfriend have been arrested as their alleged abuse has come to light. The mother, Ashely Rowland, initially told police that she gave her daughter to a drug dealer in exchange for methamphetamines. But after further investigation, police are uncertain if that is true.
On August 6, 2025, the Oklahoma City Police Department confirmed via a report on social media that Ashley Rowland, 39, and Joshua Denton, 40, had been arrested on “complaints related to child physical and sexual abuse.” After working with local police, Oklahoma City police took over the case of missing London Kerr, working alongside the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
In 2022, London, who was 2 years old, allegedly went missing from an apartment in southeast Oklahoma City, police say. “Due to the nature of the child’s disappearance, there is extreme concern for her safety,” the release notes.
After arresting Rowland and Denton, police still have no leads about where the now 5-year-old girl could be.
“There’s lack of merit, some of the stories that haven’t panned out by those who we believe may have some more information than what they’re coming forward with, so all of that makes it quite a complex case,” Oklahoma City Police Department Sergeant Dillon Quirk told KFOR.
Ashley Rowland was first arrested in 2024 on charges of abandonment of a child, KFOR reported. In 2023, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services was tasked with finding both London and Rowland. Although the girl was not found, the mother was eventually located in Moore, Oklahoma. Initially she told investigators the girl “was with her father in Georgia.” However, they soon discovered it wasn’t true.
After she was questioned again, Rowland said she had given her toddler to a man named Carlos. She was allegedly on drugs at the time and was buying methamphetamines from him, KFOR reported. Rowland also claimed that Carlos could have possibly been London’s father. She said she hadn’t seen either of them since Carlos allegedly took the tot to live in Mexico in 2022.
Rowland eventually posted bond on this arrest. At the time of that arrest, Oklahoma City police learned that Rowland had two other children, a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old, The Oklahoman reported. Police interviewed both teens, who revealed that they, as well as London, were subjected to horrific abuse from Denton.
The teens accused Denton of hitting London with a wooden paddle and shooting her with a BB gun. They also claimed he duct taped the 15-year-old boy to a chair before beating him. Denton’s own children, an 8-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son, claimed physical abuse as well.
According to court documents, they told police Denton had poured hot sauce into London’s eyes more than once, and locked her in a closet, The Oklahoman reported. He also threatened them with physical harm if they told Rowland. Denton’s daughter also claimed her father sexually abused her, telling her that if she revealed the abuse, she would die.
At least two of the children interviewed said Rowland would have known about the abuse. However, she denied the abuse when questioned by police.
Moore police were able to get a search warrant for a storage unit owned by the couple. Inside they found a BB gun and a wooden paddle with “The Last Resort” written on it. They also found diapers, a pink shoe, a pink baby blanket, and a car seat.
Denton faces nine felony charges, The Oklahoman reported. They include six felony counts of child abuse, one count of forcible sodomy, one count of lewd or indecent acts to a child, and one count of a pattern of criminal offenses. Ashley Rowland faces one count of enabling child abuse.
Because of her disappearance and lack of credible leads, police have classified London Kerr as “endangered.” If she is still alive, she will turn 6 in early September.
“Time is of the essence, still hoping for a positive turnout in this case, and we don’t have a lot to go off of right now, which makes it extremely difficult,” Quirk said, per KFOR.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
