"I Want My Boy Back": Mom Of Boy In Backseat As Pair OD Pleads for Son After Seeing Haunting Photos

It's a photograph that has arguably been seen all over the world. The image depicts a grandmother and her friend after they had overdosed on heroin in the front seat of a moving vehicle, her grandchild strapped in the backseat.

Since the image went viral, the East Liverpool, Ohio, police department has admitted that the harrowing photos were shared to show the dangers of "the poison known as heroin," and to raise awareness for children like the little boy in the photo, who deserve to grow up in "a safe... loving environment."

Image Credit: Facebook/City Of East Liverpool, Ohio

As it was reported last week, 50-year-old Rhonda Pasek and her friend are still in police custody. Pasek's four-year-old grandson has found a new home in South Carolina with his great-aunt and great-uncle.

However, the news of her son's new home has since forced 25-year-old Reva McCullough, the boy's mother, to issue a public plea for her son's return. She told the Daily Mail:

“I want my boy back."

According to the Daily Mail, the news outlet tracked McCullough down at a gentleman's club where she works. She admitted that her own past drug use ultimately led to her losing custody of both of her sons, including the four-year-old in the photo.

McCullough told the Daily Mail that when she saw the picture of her son in the police photo for the first time, she cried for "four days straight."

McCullough stated that while she used to do drugs in the past, she has never experimented with heroin before:

"I've made a lot of bad decisions in my life. I just went wild when I was 18," she said.

As the Mail reports, McCullough is the ex-girlfriend of Pasek's "troubled son." She lost custody of the boy in 2012, about four-and-a-half months after he was born. He was given to the child's maternal great-grandparents, Dick and Barbara McCullough.

Roughly one year later in 2013, Reva McCullough and the boy's father applied for custody, claiming Reva could offer the boy an emotionally and financially stable home life. However, they eventually withdrew their application.

By this time, the Daily Mail reports, the great-grandparents, both in their 80s, admitted they were "concerned about their ability" to care physically and emotionally for the child in the future.

They asked to have the boy transferred to their daughter and son-in-law — the same great-aunt and uncle in South Carolina who obtained custody last week.

However, Pasek objected to the transfer, and when the McCulloughs refused to hand over the child — briefly sending him to the unknown relatives — Pasek asked that they be held in contempt of court.

Image Credit: Screenshot/CBS Pittsburgh

As the Daily Mail reports, Pasek was eventually granted full custody. In his decision to grant Pasek custody, Judge Thomas Baronzzi acknowledged that the McCulloughs were "critical" of Pasek's lifestyle, believing that she struggled with alcohol abuse, but said there was no evidence that Pasek's "drinking" or "diagnosed bipolar condition" affected her ability to care for the boy.

Pasek was given full-custody on July 25, 2016, just six weeks before she overdosed on heroin and was photographed by the East Liverpool, Ohio, police department.

Pasek was sentenced to 180 days after she pleaded no contest to child endangering, disorderly conduct, public intoxication, and a seat belt violation. According to law enforcement, it's unlikely that Pasek will ever see her grandson again.

As for Reva McCullough, The Daily Mail notes that she was sipping on water at the time of her interview. The mom, who currently lives in East Palestine, Ohio, asserted that her drug use is a thing of the past:

“I don’t take drugs anymore. I haven’t even had a drink all night. Ironically, I have never taken heroin."

While her son remains in the care of his great-aunt and uncle in South Carolina, McCullough's other three-year-old son is reportedly in the care of Pasek's sister in Delaware.