Mother charged with child endangerment after 4 children found alone in Spring, sheriff says
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the home on Cypress Hill Drive where one child was found was in disarray.
SPRING, Texas (KTRK) -- The parents of four children, between the ages of 1 and 4 years old, who may have been alone for up to two days before they were found by a stranger late Thursday night, have been charged, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.
The mother, identified as 27-year-old Angela Huff, was charged with three counts of child endangerment, Gonzalez said in a tweet. The father, 31-year-old Markel Dorsey, was charged with felony violation of bond conditions.
According to Gonzalez, at about 10:50 p.m., a stranger saw three of the children running around in the street in the 4000 block of Cypress Hill Drive. One of the kids was naked. Others had on diapers that were falling off.
The stranger, identified as John, and his girlfriend then called 911.
John told ABC13 that he and his girlfriend were driving home from buying snacks around 11 p.m. when they pulled onto Cypress Hill Drive.
"We see two kids naked, and it's cold outside at that! And they're just running around the street, and we're like, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa,'" John said.
They then stopped the car to talk to the children in the street, two girls and a 4-year-old boy.
"My girlfriend was like, 'Where's your mom?' He was like, 'I think my mom is dead.' I'm just like, 'Lord,'" John explained.
When deputies arrived, the 4-year-old boy also told them, "I think my mommy is dead."
John says that he and his girlfriend walked the kids to the house nearby with an empty stroller out front and knocked. No one answered, but the door was open.
"When we go inside, everything is a mess. There's a chair by the fridge. I'm sure they were trying to get something to eat. There's water all over the floor like it's been a flood. I'm just like, 'Lord have mercy, poor children, man,'" John described.
A 1-year-old boy was found inside a three-bedroom house and appeared to have fallen from his crib, authorities said.
"We hear a thump, boom, and a baby starts crying and my girlfriend is like, 'There's a baby back there. There's somebody back there. We gotta go back in there.' So she goes back in there and grabs that little baby," John said.
A nurse next door changed the children's diapers.
"They only found one diaper out of the whole house, and there are four babies in there that use diapers, and they found one diaper," John continued.
The sheriff's office told ABC13 there were signs the children tried to feed each other because the refrigerator door was open.
Officials described the house the 1-year-old was discovered in as unkempt and a mess.
Deputies said they found Huff at a hotel about 30 minutes away in the Highway 290 and Highway 6 area.
Gonzalez added that the family has lived in the home for about a year and during that time, there have been at least a half dozen domestic violence calls.
Investigators talked to the children, kept them warm and gave them food. All of the kids appeared to be in good health, officials said.
The children are now in the care of their great-grandmother.
CPS is involved and released the following statement.
"Child Protective Services is investigating this case alongside law enforcement to ensure the well-being of the children. We're grateful the children were found unharmed and that they're now safe with other family members."
Watch full coverage from ABC13's Courtney Fischer as the story unfolded.
