EDGEWATER, Fla. – A 38-year-old woman faces child neglect charges after her three young children were found in the road without supervision, according to an arrest affidavit.
Edgewater police said they responded to Woodland Drive on Sunday around 12:04 p.m. in reference to incident.
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According to the affidavit, residents in the area said they found two young children in one area of Woodland Drive and another in a different location of the same road.
Police said the children ages 4, 3 and 1 were found without shoes and some were missing clothing.
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According to the affidavit, the 1-year-old was found lying in the middle of Woodland Drive while the 4-year-old was wandering in the same road. The 3-year-old was found in a driveway off of Woodland Drive.
Police said at 12:14 p.m. they tried make contact with a parent or guardian at a residence on Woodland Drive where a witness believed the children lived, but did not receive a response.
However, at 12:18 p.m., a vehicle pulled into the driveway of the residence and officers made contact with the driver, identified as Ruby Mensah who said she lived at the home and had three young children.
According to the affidavit, Mensah advised that the children were hers and that there was not anyone else home at the time they were found.
Mensah told police that she left the children alone around 11:30 a.m. to go to a Publix, but “assumed she would be back quickly” and did not know that the children escaped the home.
Police said Mensah stated that she knew that she should not leave the children alone, but said she did not have any friends or family in the area to watch them.
According to the affidavit, Mensah left the children unattended for around 48 minutes, it was 94 degrees outside and Woodland Drive is an active road with speed limit of 30 mpg with no sidewalks.
Police said they noticed the back door of the home to be wide open, the front door was unlocked and the 4-year-old knows how to open doors.
According to the affidavit, the children were turned over to the Department of Children and Families and Mensah was placed under arrest and taken to the Volusia County jail.
She faces three charges of child neglect.