Mother arrested after little children found abandoned, living in squalor | Law Enforcement Today

PONTIAC, MI - Three children were found living alone in a filthy home that was filled with feces and trash. According to FOX2, the children, ages 15, 13, and 12, were found Friday, February 14th. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office (OCSO) said that their mother had left them alone in the home four years ago and would return to drop food off to them.

OCSO Sheriff Michael Bouchard said he's never seen anything like what deputies uncovered at the home. He said, "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." FOX2 reported that all three children are now living with a relative. 

Bouchard said that deputies were called for a welfare check at a home on Lydia Lane. The landlord called after he said he had not heard from the mother since December and that rent was last paid in October 2024. He told officers that he was concerned something had happened. Upon arriving at the home, deputies found the home full of garbage, piled as high as four feet in some rooms.

The rooms were also covered in mold and human waste. The toilet was overflowing and the bathtub was full of feces. The three children were living there, alone. The boy, the oldest of the siblings, said they lived in the home with their mother but that she abandoned them in either 2020 or 2021, when the kids were just 11, nine, and eight. 

The children survived on food that was dropped off on the front porch each week by either their mother or a stranger. They, however, had no access to toilet paper or personal hygiene items. The sheriff said they were unfamiliar with personal hygiene and didn't know how to flush a toilet. 

The kids also did not attend school since the mother left and instead passed time by watching TV or playing games. The sheriff said the girls had not been outside in years. The boy slept on a mattress on the floor and the two girls slept on pizza boxes. Bouchard said, "This situation would be deemed deplorable and intolerable for an animal, and it is utterly unacceptable for three children."

He added, "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."

Deputies said that the neighbors were unaware that the children lived in the home and had never even seen them. They said they had seen the mother at the home each month. The kids were all wearing soiled clothing with matted hair and toenails so long that it was difficult to walk. Their 34-year-old mother was found at a different location and arrested. She told deputies that the kids' father was not involved in their lives.

OCSO is collecting donations for the three children. New and gently used clothing donations are being accepted. Clothing sizes needed are: girl's size 12 clothing and girl's size 6.5 shoes for the 12-year-old; girl's size 14 clothing and girl's size 7 shoes for the 13-year-old girl; and medium men's clothing and size 9 shoes for the 15-year-old boy.

The identity of the mother has not been released. The investigation remains ongoing.