PONTIAC, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A 34-year-old woman has been arrested in Oakland County after officials found three children living alone in “absolute squalor” after they say she abandoned them.
The children, ages 15, 13, and 12, survived on weekly drop-offs of prepared food and had not been to school since being abandoned in 2020 or 2021, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
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We have arrested a Pontiac woman in a child abuse case. Sheriff Bouchard‘s thoughts on the case. “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. pic.twitter.com/dQ103j6A0h
— Oakland County Sheriff’s Office (@oaklandsheriff) February 16, 2025
Deputies discovered the children after the landlord requested a welfare check. He contacted deputies because he had not heard from the mother since December and rent had been last paid in October. The landlord was concerned that something may have happened.
When deputies arrived, they found garbage piled as high as four feet in some rooms; they discovered mold and human waste throughout the home.
Child Protective Services have placed the three siblings in the custody of a relative.
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The case is expected to be turned over to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office for review this week.
