Sarah May Hatfield, 25, of Thornton, was arrested late Saturday night on investigation of child abuse and released from Adams County Jail on Sunday afternoon.

Police and the woman's husband told 7NEWS that Hatfield said she had no recollection of what happened after she stopped for gas.

"This is totally out of character. She's a good mother," the woman's husband, Matt Hatfield, said Sunday.

He said his wife is a stay at home mom who "has never been arrested, never touched illegal drugs. Nothing about this makes any sense to anyone who knows her whatsoever."

Matt Hatfield said that his wife has suffered migraine headaches and insomnia for about six months to a year. She's gone to see sleep doctors about it.

"Whether there were underlying medical conditions that caused a blackout, whether there are mental health issues, or whether there was foul play, she couldn't have been in her right mind when this happened," said Matt Hatfield.

The incident began about 2:27 p.m. Saturday when an employee spotted a gold minivan parked on the south side of the Western Gas and Convenience Store at Thornton Parkway and Huron Street, said Thornton police spokesman Matt Barnes.

The station employee was going to have the abandoned van towed until he looked inside and saw two boys, ages 2 and 4, Barnes said.

Officers responded and took the children into protective custody, he said. They were later released to their father.

Sarah Hatfield had left her keys, cellphone and purse in the van, Barnes said.

After Matt Hatfield took his sons home, he reported to police that a handgun his wife had access to was missing, Barnes said.

Police searched the area around the gas station, but found no sign of the missing woman, Barnes said.

At about 11:45 p.m. and 11 miles south of the gas station, a security guard called police when he spotted the woman outside National Jewish Hospital in Denver.

"She has no recollection of that 10 hours. When she came to, she happened to be in front of National Jewish," Matt Hatfield said. "She called at midnight frantic. She didn’t know where she was or how she got there."

7NEWS reporter Jaclyn Allen was there when the woman was released from jail.

Sarah Hatfield said when she came to outside the hospital, "I was just sore. My arms, my legs, my stomach – everything was sore."

This had her family wondering if the woman walked the all the way to Denver.

Barnes confirmed that Sarah Hatfield had no memory about what happened. Yet, he said she was coherent and able to provide basic information about herself. The woman did not claim that she had been abducted or the victim of any other crime, he said.

Because the woman had no injuries and did not appear disoriented, police didn't have her medically evaluated, Barnes said. Instead, she was taken to jail.

Barnes said investigators want to determine where she was while missing and how she got to Denver, he added.

The missing gun had not been found, police said.