Police are searching for a woman they say abandoned her two children in “deplorable” conditions for nearly two months.
31-year-old Raven Yates is accused of leaving her 12-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son alone at a home in Roman Forest, a small town in eastern Texas.
Yates is believed to have left the two children at home in September so that she could travel to Mobile, Alabama, her hometown. Her family members spotted her in the town and called the father of one of the children. The man, who works as a music producer in California, contacted law enforcement to check on the children in Texas.
Police were shocked to find the two children alone.
Roman Forest Police Chief Stephen Carlisle told KTRK-TV that the house was mostly empty and that investigators said there was a strong stench of urine in the 3-year-old’s bedroom.
“No food in the house; everything was empty,” Carlisle said. “There were some dry beans and spices. That was it.”
Investigators say that the 12-year-old didn’t tell anyone about the situation because she had been threatened by Yates. The mother allegedly told the child that her father would come and take her and leave the 3-year-old alone if she told anyone. The two children have different fathers.
The father told police that Yates had moved to Texas about a year ago but had never enrolled the children in school.
“A 12-year-old cannot take care of a 3-year-old for a long period of time, especially over a month and a half,” Carlisle continued. “It’s dangerous and irresponsible of a parent. Without medical supplies or ways to get food, that’s very dangerous.”
Yates has a large following on social media and has continued to post even as police seek to arrest her. She is wanted for two counts of abandoning or endangering a child without intent to return.
Yates also has a third child, a 14-year-old daughter, who reportedly ran away from home at about the same time that Yates left for Alabama.
All three children have been reunited and are safe with a family member in Mobile, Alabama.
Here’s a local news report about the child abandonment:
Mom accused of leaving kids home alone for 2 monthswww.youtube.com
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