Texas Mother Arrested After Allegedly Leaving Children Home Alone for 2 Months

A woman was arrested by police and federal authorities in Mobile, Alabama after allegedly leaving her children home alone for more than two months, authorities said.

Raven Yates was apprehended on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at an apartment complex where she was staying with a male friend, according to a statement by police in Roman Forest, Texas. She is accused of leaving her daughter, 12, and son, 3, home alone in Texas from Sept. 8, 2022 until they were discovered by the girl's father on November 14.

"On March 8, in a joint effort between the Roman Forest Police and US Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offender Fugitive Task Force to locate Raven Yates resulted in her being located and apprehended at an apartment complex in Mobile Alabama," the statement said.

The girl's father reported to the police that his daughter had been home alone with her brother since September 28, 2022, "much of the time without access to food or medical supplies." After flying in from California, where he was working, the father learned that Yates had been spotted in Mobile without her children and that "he had been asked by his daughter to send food regularly"

During that time, the children had not been registered in any schools, officials said.

With help from the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offender Fugitive Task Force, the Roman Forest Police were able to locate Yates after she had been actively making social media posts about the situation, leading to many tips and leads.

Yates was arrested on suspicion of two counts of abandoning and endangering a child without intent to return.

As of Sunday, she was still listed in the custody of the Mobile County Sheriff's Office on Friday, awaiting extradition back to Montgomery County in Texas.

Police previously noted in February that both children are "safe with a family member in Alabama."