Mother sought by Spokane police spotted in Portland

A Spokane mother whose children have been ordered to return to state custody was spotted Tuesday in Portland. Patricia Lyons, 25, is wanted on a second-degree assault charge after police say she stabbed her ex-boyfriend on Saturday. Child Protective Services determined the incident violated court restrictions, and her 5-year-old daughter, Athena Lyons, and 2-year-old son, Ronnie Adams, are to return to state custody. But police can’t find Lyons, and they think she may have left town not knowing she’d lost custody of her children, said Officer Jennifer DeRuwe. “That’s why it didn’t make it to an Amber Alert,” DeRuwe said. Lyons canceled counseling appointments and told her employees at her daughter’s school “that she is moving out of state,” police said Wednesday. Lyons “is not in a healthy mental state” and the children may be at risk, police said. She may be driving a white Chevy Lumina with Washington license plates 229 XWX. Anyone with information on Lyons should call 911.