PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — A Pontiac mother has been arrested after abandoning her three kids in a home in the city for 4-5 years, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office tells us.
Officials say that the children were left in squalor, surviving on weekly drop-offs of prepared food. First responders said that four feet piles of garbage were found in some rooms. Mold and human excrement was found throughout the house.
Deputies were called to a home in the 600 block of Lydia Lane on Friday afternoon to perform a welfare check and found the children — a 15-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl — all by themselves. The sisters were locked in a bathroom when police arrived.
FULL INTERVIEW: Sheriff Bouchard speaks after Pontiac mother arrested after abandoning children in home for 4-5 years
The landlord of the home told police that he had not heard from the mother since December, with rent last being paid back in October.
The oldest sibling said that the kids had been abandoned by their mother in 2020 or 2021, surviving on one prepared food dropped off by their mother or a stranger once a week.
Police say that the children had not attended school since their abandonment, passing the time watching television or playing games. It appeared the girls had not been outside the home for several years, with the boy sleeping on a mattress on the floor while the girls slept on pizza boxes.
The children were taken to the hospital for evaluation, with soiled clothes, matted hair, and toenails so long that it was difficult to walk.
Neighbors told police that did see a woman drop off stuff at the home from time to time, but they never saw the kids leave the house.
The mother was arrested without incident at a separate location, while the kids are now in the care of a relative, organized by Child Protective Services.
“Throughout my extensive career in this field, I have never encountered a scenario as dire and prolonged as this one, involving abandonment, neglect, and abuse of the highest order,” Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a release on the arrest. “This situation would be deemed deplorable and intolerable for an animal, and it is utterly unacceptable for three children. They have been deprived of any interaction with their mother and have not received an education for years. The far-reaching consequences of this abuse must be acknowledged. We look forward to presenting this case to the prosecutor and ensuring that this mother faces the consequences of her actions.”
If you know a child who is being neglected or abused, you can make a report to the state by calling 855-444-3911 and find more info at this link.
