A Michigan mother was arrested after she allegedly abandoned her three children for four years, authorities said.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office arrested the woman, who has not been identified because she and one of her daughters shared the same name, on Friday, four years after she abandoned her 15-year-old son and two daughters, aged 13 and 12.
Investigators said the kids survived on weekly drop-offs of prepared food and did not attend school. They had been living in deplorable conditions with piles of trash as high as 4 feet in some areas of the home.
It was the landlord who sent deputies to the home after not hearing from the woman in a while. Police reportedly found out the mother was living elsewhere in Pontiac.
“I’ve seen child neglect and other situations where they’re living in a bad place, but not to this level and not for this extended, extended duration,” Sheriff Michael Bouchard said.
Locals were left in shock upon learning that three abandoned children were struggling to survive in their community.
“Everybody is upset about it,” said Emma Gross. “Like, oh my God. This is right in our neighborhood. How could something like this happen?”
