MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas – A mother is on the run after police say she left her two young children home alone for several weeks at their Montgomery County home while she was in a different state.
Residents who live in the Tavola community were heartbroken.
“I can’t hardly comprehend something like that. I really can’t. I raised two daughters and got four grand kids family means everything to us. It’s heartbreaking,” Lonnie Castleman said.
Officials say Raven Yates, 31, is wanted on two counts of abandoning or endangering a child without intent to return.
According to the Roman Forest Police Department, on Nov. 14, 2022, they were contacted by a concerned father who reported that his 12-year-old daughter had been left alone with her 3-year-old brother since Sept. 28, 2022, without access to food or medical supplies.
“The conditions inside the house did look like a 12-year-old was taking care of a 3-year-old, it wasn’t an adult there but miraculously and thankfully they were both healthy and they had created ways of getting food,” said Roman Forest Police Chief Stephen Carlisle.
It’s unclear why Yates allegedly left the children. Residents were unaware of the situation.
“We would have jumped in as a neighborhood and cared for those kids, but I hope the mother has a change of heart personality wise or whatever it takes there is no way to justify it,” Castleman said.
Police said the father, who works in California, immediately flew to Texas once he was informed that Yates was in Mobile, Alabama without her children.
The father reportedly told law enforcement that he realized the children weren’t with Yates because his daughter had been asking him to send her food on a regular basis.
“As a retired teacher. It kind of hits your heart really hard,” Derry Summer said.
KPRC spoke to Dr. Bob Sandborn, President and CEO of Children at Risk who says neglect is the biggest form of child abuse. He says this is another instance of kids falling through the cracks in Texas.
“This little 12-year-old is going to feel the repercussion of this event on her life for many years to come. She may seem happy, she may seem resilient, but this is a traumatic event this is an adverse childhood experience for this young girl, and it will have an impact on her down the road. A 3-year-old maybe not. Maybe he will be able to move on,” Dr. Sandborn said.
A spokesperson for Child Protective Services says, “CPS did not investigate because it was outside the scope of our authority to do so.”
KPRC also spoke to the father of the 12-year-old who says his main focus is to take care of his daughter and get back on track. The father says he is going through a custody battle with Yates.
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A warrant has since been issued for the arrest of Yates, who police believe is still in Alabama.
Police also said Yates has a 14-year-old child who ran away days before she left the home.
All three children, according to investigators, are currently safe with family members in Alabama.
Where is Roman Forest?
Roman Forest is a city in Montgomery County, Texas. According to US Census data, the 2020 Decennial count showed a population of 1,781.
Roman Forest is served by New Caney Independent School District. The Texas Legislature designated New Caney ISD (and therefore Roman Forest) as part of Lone Star College (formerly the North Harris Montgomery Community College) District.