Mother arrested after two US children found living alone without water in a cave
Two US children were discovered living alone in a cave with no water and one child was clutching a cup of dry noodles mixed with dirt. (KMBC News)
A US mother has been charged after two young children were found abandoned without water and living in a cave in Missouri.
The children, aged four and six, had been living in the Kansas City cave for several days and were barefoot and dirty, KMBC reports.
Their mother, 24-year-old Brittany Mugrauer, has been charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
The children were found inside a large wooden crate which also housed two benches, rubbish and two small blankets.
They had no water and one child was clutching a cup of dry noodles mixed with dirt.
The dirt floor cave is one of several large neighbouring storage units rented out commercially.
A Jackson County Sheriff’s deputy discovered the two children living in the cave on Thursday while investigating a possible illegal car workshop in one of the nearby caves.
A man who rents one of the other storage units said the situation was inhumane.
“I don’t even believe they allow animals to live like that, so for a person, two children, I’m saddened by it,” he told KMBC.
Ms Mugrauer reportedly told police the children had been living in the cave for several days without supervision.
The six-year-old child told authorities he was supposed to be in the first grade, but doesn’t attend school.
Both children were taken to hospital, given baths, food and clean clothes.
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