SAN DIEGO -- There is new information about the Ohio mother charged with helping a child molester escape from a halfway house and taking her own daughter along on a cross-country trek to San Diego.

Candace Watson and Robbie Potter reportedly just met on May 28 -- the same day, authorities said, that she helped him escape from a federal halfway house.

Police found the couple nearly a month later at a Christian Retreat in Valley Center.

The one question no one seems to know the answer to is: why would the 24-year-old mother run away with a child molester and bring her own 4-year-old daughter with them?

For the first time, Watson's mother, Mary, has indicated that mental illness may be involved.

"She's supposed to be on bipolar medication but she never has the money to go to a doctor or the time, but she needs to," Mary Watson said. "I hope everything works out for her and she does get the help she needs."

Four-year-old Haylee is still in protective custody at the Polinsky Children's Center. Her grandmother has been awarded emergency custody but she's still waiting for permission to bring the girl back to Ohio.

She's fed up with the legal process but thankful she was finally able to talk to Haylee over the phone this weekend. She said the child is full of questions that she can't answer.

"She tells everybody she loves us and we've been telling her we love her and as far as anything else that's been going on we don't know," Watson said.

Candace Watson and Robbie Potter remain in federal custody without bail while they await extradition to Ohio.

Haylee's grandmother said the national Center for Missing and Exploited Children will cover her airfare to San Diego but she is struggling to find a place to stay.