OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – Three Oakland County kids were living alone in “absolute squalor” for years after their mother abandoned them.
During their time living alone, only one of the kids ever stepped outside the house, and he only did twice.
The whole situation has some people wondering why the children never asked for help.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Feb. 18, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said that the kids were young and had been scared.
He said they were just doing what they were told and that living in those conditions had become their reality.
Bouchard also said at this point in the investigation he wasn’t sure if the mother had said anything in particular to scare the children.
The case was handed to the prosecutor’s office and Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald is expected to announce updates this afternoon.
More -- Sheriff: How nobody knew 3 abandoned kids were living alone in Oakland County for years
How to help the kids
Bouchard said they received “bags and bags” of clothing for the children, so now they are pivoting to gather financial support for them.
“We appreciate the community’s response in supporting the three neglected Pontiac children,” the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post. “At this juncture, we have sufficient clothing donations and are shifting our focus to accept donations for educational supplies and to allocate resources for their future well-being. We are accepting donations to a tax-deductible qualified fund, with 100% of the contributions going directly to the children."
Bouchard reiterated that 100% of the funding will go to the kids, and said his office is looking for a law firm to help set up a trust fund for them.
What we know
Deputies performed a welfare check at the home in the 600 block of Lydia Lane in the afternoon on Friday, Feb. 14, after the landlord called them.
The landlord told them he hadn’t heard from the mother since December, and rent hadn’t been paid since October. He was concerned that something could have happened.
When they arrived, they found the home in deplorable condition.
Garbage was piled as high as four feet in some areas and mold and human waste were found throughout the home.
The toilet was overflowing and they found feces in the bathtub, according to the sheriff’s office.
The children were found wearing soiled clothing. Their hair was matted and their nails were several inches long.
Neighbors told authorities they never saw the children outside the house, but would see the mother drop things off.
After their mother was arrested, the three children were put in a relative’s custody by Child Protective Services.
On Monday, Michelle Ratcliff, a neighbor, expressed her outrage over how the children were left to live alone in those horrible conditions for years.
“You just can’t do kids like that,” said Ratcliff. “They can’t fend for themselves.”
Ratcliff said she knows the kids' grandfather and said it’s sad that nobody checked on them.
