posted on October 1, 2003 07:53:42 AM new
Home Alone Nearly Three Weeks, Tot Survives
Oct 1, 9:12 am ET
MIAMI (Reuters) - A 2-year-old girl whose mother was in jail survived alone in an apartment for nearly three weeks on ketchup, mustard and food she found in the refrigerator and kitchen cupboards, Jacksonville, Florida police said on Tuesday.
The child's father found the toddler on Monday, draped in a towel and sitting in an infant's bathtub in her mother's apartment, police said.
Police have charged the mother, Dakeysha Telita Lee, 20, with child abuse for not telling them she had left the girl alone at home when she was arrested on Sept. 10 on an aggravated battery charge.
The child, whose name was not released, was recovering from malnutrition and Florida's Department of Children and Families, the state child welfare agency, was investigating the case to determine where to place the girl.
"She had subsisted on mustard, ketchup, dried pasta. She cleared out the lower cabinets looking for food as well as the refrigerator," Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokesman Ken Jefferson said.
"Everything was on the bed in the bedroom. Obviously she had found other things than the ketchup to eat."
The child's father, Ogden Lee, told the Florida Times-Union newspaper he had been trying to contact Dakeysha Lee, from whom he is separated, for two weeks, not knowing she was in jail.
He finally tried the jail on Sunday and talked to his estranged wife, who told him the girl was with neighbors. After knocking on doors at her apartment complex without success, he had a manager let him into the mother's apartment on Monday and found the girl, dirty and covered with dried ketchup.
"She grabbed me and wouldn't let go of me," he told the newspaper. "It really is a miracle how good a shape my daughter is in. I don't know how she did it."
Police said there was no evidence anyone had visited the apartment during the time the child was alone.
"The child is safe and in our care," said Pattie Mallon, an official with the Department of Children and Families in Jacksonville. "We are in awe of her spirit to survive and we are making every effort to ensure her safety and well being."
posted on October 1, 2003 08:27:35 AM new
Isn't this terrible? What's the matter with some people? Rather than be sure her child is safe while she's in jail, she pulls this stunt.
This child is so lucky to have survived. But I worry that her placement with the Florida Child Protective Services Dept. might not be a whole lot better. Some of the cases I've read about how they are too overwhelmed with neglected children already to properly care for those they now need to protect.
Such a shame.
See....gives us a reason to call our Mom's and tell them how much we appreciate the good care they provided for us.
posted on October 1, 2003 08:44:30 AM new
years ago,an older child survived on her own by heating up boyardee sphagetti after coming home from school after her mother died at home.she watched tv,did her homework and went to bed ,finally she told her teacher her mother died and they sent someone to her home .
-sig file -------The thrill is gone!!