NEW ORLEANS - A WOMAN is accused of trading two young children in her care for a pet cockatoo and US$175 (S$269) in cash from a couple who had been trying for years to have their own child, authorities said on Thursday.

Donna Greenwell, 53, is charged with aggravated kidnapping, along with would-be adoptive parents Paul J. Romero, 46, and Brandy Lynn Romero, 27.

'The Romeros had good intentions from what we see,' said Keith Dupre, a detective with the Evangeline Parish Sheriff's Office.

'They really wanted to take care of the kids. The kids were well-dressed and seemed to be treated good by the Romero family.' The transaction for the 5-year-old boy and the 4-year-old girl was negotiated by phone after Greenwell spotted a flier posted at a livestock barn selling a cockatoo for $1,500 and called the Romeros on Feb 18, Dupre said.

Although Paul Romero had three children from a previous marriage, Mr Dupre said, he and Brandy had tried unsuccessfully for years to have a child together.

When they told that to Greenwell, she allegedly offered to hand over the boy and girl for money. When the Romeros said they couldn't meet the price, Mr Dupre said, 'Ms Greenwell agreed to make an even trade: the bird for the kids.' Greenwell showed up with the children at the Romeros' home the next day and said she would also need $175 for an attorney to complete adoption paperwork, Mr Dupre said. But she had no authority to put the children up for adoption.

Everything began to unravel last week when authorities received a phone tip that the Romeros and the children would be at a local fast food restaurant, where authorities approached them. The children are in state custody.

Greenwell's relationship to the children was unclear. Mr Dupre said the children's father was being questioned and that authorities were looking for the mother, believed to be somewhere in Texas.

The Romeros were free on $5,000 bond. Greenwell remained in jail on $100,000 bond, Mr Dupre said. She turned herself in on Sunday.

The court clerk's office said on Thursday that attorneys had been appointed for Greenwell and Paul Romero. Greenwell's court-appointed lawyer, Timmy Fontenot of Mamou, declined comment. A message was left Thursday afternoon for Romero's lawyer, Kelly Tate. -- AP