NH Mom Arrested After 3 Young Kids Walk To Police Station, Ask For Ride To School
FARMINGTON, NH (CBS) – A New Hampshire mom is facing charges for allegedly leaving her three young children home alone, after the kids showed up at the police station looking for a ride to school.
Officials say Katarina Short, 26, of Farmington, left a five, four and one-year-old home alone for more than an hour while she ran an errand on Tuesday morning.
Temperatures were around zero degrees when the kids ventured out of the home.
"The reason why he had left the house is after discovering their mother wasn't there his greatest desire was to get to school," said Farmington Police Chief Kevin Willey.
Officers say the children were fully dressed in boots and winter coats when they showed up at the station. They credit the five-year-old with making sure they were appropriately dressed for the weather.
"He was able to get their coats on," said Willey. "The one-year-old she had her boots on but unfortunately he had put them on the wrong feet."
Short, a single mom, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
She was also charged with providing false information to police.
"She indicated that she left them in the care of a babysitter and had run to Walmart to pick up some food items."
Police say no babysitter had ever been called.
The three children have been placed in foster care at least until a hearing scheduled for March 18.
WBZ-TV's New Hampshire Bureau Chief Michael Rosenfield contributed to this report. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelWBZ4
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