Nobody's home, just the kids. >> It kind of gives me a feeling when she fell asleep somewhere. I've probably been gone maybe an hour and I'm not a bad person. I'm just super stressed right now. I have a lot going on. I would never ever ever abandon my kids. >> On October 29th, 2024, officers responded to a residence following a report from neighbors concerned after seeing the front door wide open and dependent alone inside while their mother was missing. >> When was the last time you seen her? >> This evening when she was in the office. Yesterday. >> Yesterday. >> Yeah. >> Where's her car at? This one? >> Yeah. I thought she might have hung a ghost up there or something. A sheep or something for Halloween. And as I was pulling off, I seen the kitchen light on. >> Okay. >> Is the door wide open right now? >> No. >> Where did you close it? >> I closed it, but I rang the doorbell. I went around and beat on her. She >> got camera. >> Hello. She got dogs. >> She got one little old Chihuahua. >> What's her name? >> Lind. Lindsay. >> Lindsay. Uh Carter. >> Miss Carter. Hello. >> Nothing. >> No. There's somebody here. >> I went around there and beat him or there's a child in here. >> Should be two. A baby. It's three of them. >> It's a little girl. >> A little baby boy. >> Okay. Yeah. Where? She ain't in there. >> I don't see her in the bedroom. >> She should have answered her phone, though. >> Y'all got her phone number. >> Yeah. >> And then I heard I don't know. I could be tripping, >> but I was cing food. I heard like a popping noise, but I didn't tell him that. I'm thinking he heard it, but he didn't. I don't guess he heard it. And the little boy ain't even waking up. Huh? Why don't you try to wake him up? >> I'm going go down here and beat on this office door and see if she in there. >> Okay. >> So, her bedroom door. It's open. >> Yeah, it's open. >> Ah, that's weird. >> You know the manager at Timber Creek? Well, Lind, her name's Lindsay, but we get calls here all the time. Anyway, I just got called here. Her neighbors were worried about her. Um, the door's wide open. I walked in the house and I looked in the bedroom. There's a a little toddler in a crib and there's two other doors that are shut. Is it okay for me to open up the two other doors that are closed to check and see if anybody's home? Yeah, like I knocked on the door and it just opened up. >> A kid in here asleep. Hello. Nobody's home, just the kids. I don't know where she is and they're all little babies. Her car's here, but she's not here. And I tried calling her cell phone. The three kids are there sleeping, >> but Lindsay's missing. >> Lindsay's gone. They got home at like 9:00. >> Where's her dad's house at? >> Right there with me. >> How you doing, sir? >> Are you Lindsay's father? >> Her father. >> You're her father. Okay. Do you know where she's at right now? >> No, she's not at home. >> No, sir. She's not at home. Uh, her door was wide open. And >> really? >> Yeah. We're trying to find her. Her kids are in the house. And >> the kids are in there, but she's not there. >> But she's not there. >> Let's check my computer right quick. >> Say it again. See if I got an email. And the boys don't know where she is. Uh, >> I didn't I didn't wake them up. >> She named her. >> Okay. All right. I'm trying to get a hold of her still. I'll probably go and wake up our son. Hey, Houston. >> No. >> Do you know where your mother's at? >> No. >> Okay. Cuz y'all's door was left wide open. And that's the reason that I'm here. I'm trying to find her. Okay. Do you know where she could possibly be? >> I got my sergeant. He's coming on the way. >> Okay. I'm the maintenance guy here, so this does kind of concern me. >> Okay. Where do you have her boyfriend's number? To >> my knowledge, she doesn't have a boyfriend. >> Well, the boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, baby daddy. >> Baby daddy is in Maine or Massachusetts working now. He's cleared hell over on East Coast. >> Okay. I tried to call her. She's not answering my >> Yeah, she's not answering anybody's calls. >> It went to voicemail after two rings when I tried to call. >> It kind of gives me a feeling she fell asleep somewhere. Where's she going to fall asleep at? >> Does she know? She could have been at someone's apartment for an emergency. >> Excuse me. This is her boss. >> This could have been an emergency. She was in someone's apartment. She passed out and the people I don't know were asleep. I mean, I don't really know what to say, but she's not answering me. >> So, what I want you to do is just go back into the house. Okay. I got my sergeant. He's going to be on the way. And then we're going to find your mom. All right. >> I know she's here somewhere, though. >> She has to be. I'll call you. >> Yeah. I just don't know how the door was unlocked cuz I know it was locked when I went to bed cuz I locked it. >> She can do try to get a hold of her herself. See if she can figure out where she's at too. >> Okay. >> But that's we can do. >> What were you saying? >> She would take I be I don't know. I just be cuz I'm here all the time. >> You think he's covering? >> That's what I said. That's why when he say that. >> Yeah. Okay. >> I believe she in number two. Go check out You should knock on Facebook. >> Yeah. But she doesn't like her. >> They be on Facebook. come and then like through the day then he'd be over especially when he off I sit right in my house in the kitchen with the blinds open he be in and out of that I mean out of that office >> really like >> okay well whenever my sergeant gets here then we'll go do a knock >> she's not answering her phone >> right we tried to call her and it didn't answer either >> this is worrying >> it's wor okay there has been problems with apartment number three arresting her. >> Who was coming first? >> Okay. >> I wonder if they would check if she's I don't know what to say. I don't know what to do. I'm just I'm so convinced. >> Yeah. So am I. I just wanted to make sure you knew what's going on. >> There's a male that lives over there. >> Yeah. >> So you think she's over there sleep? >> I probably like >> talking like about he she pretty she picking stuff. What boy do that? >> Okay. >> I mean listen >> what's his name? Do you know? Uh, >> Skinner. Skinner. Last name. Skinner. >> Uh, Kaylin Skinner. >> Is he a black guy? >> Yeah. >> Tall black guy. Slender. Yeah. He drives that Charger right there. >> Okay. Yeah, I know who he is. She drank. Do you know? >> No. >> Do you know if she does drugs or anything like that? >> Have you noticed any strange activity? >> No. >> In the area with her? The only thing she normally do, she in the morning them kids go to school, she take that baby to daycare and she come back about 8:00 she be in that office. >> Okay. >> Lunch time. She come out, come over here and then she go back to the office after lunch and she's there to 4:00. That's her routine. Unless who he just called unless they got to go to a meeting something somewhere and she'll normally let us know where she going to be gone. >> Yeah. >> I can't imagine where she's at. It should be a 12-year-old boy in here. >> Yeah. Houston's in there. He He was awake. >> About 8 years old. >> Little girl's asleep. >> And a baby. >> And a baby. >> Can I help y'all? >> Yeah. >> Yeah. She just showed up. >> Yeah. I've been here. Why are you over here? >> Somebody found your door wide open. >> Because it doesn't latch. >> Okay. >> It's broken. I can show it to you. It won't. >> All right. Well, we're just here because your door's wide open and kids are left unattended. Not for long. So, I've been right here on property. Let me tell you all I appreciate you. >> Oh, yeah. So, she just showed up. >> Okay. >> Yeah. Door doesn't latch. So, there's a lot of nights that I get up. I go do school work in the office. I'm in college right now full time. Get up, go for a walk here. >> We're working >> around there. >> Yeah. >> Around where? several tenants that are friends here talking. >> So you were back there walking or were you with a tenant? >> She was a tenant. >> And who was that? >> Kaylin. >> He was number two. Wasn't there very long as soon as I got done with school work. So my door hadn't been open very long. >> What time did you leave? >> Yeah, y'all been calling me for 15 minutes. >> How long were you gone? >> Maybe 30 max. Soon as I got done doing school work, I've been trying to get all my stuff done so I can graduate. >> Well, the first time I called you was at 2011. cuz the first time he called me was 2:00. >> That's what I was saying. >> And what how long were you gone before then? >> So I was in the office earlier. I've probably been gone maybe an hour if that. But I've been on property like I have checked on my kids, things like that. I do school work a lot of nights. >> What time did you find the apartment >> empty? >> I come out about 1:30. >> 1:30. In the time that you were here, nobody ever. She never showed up. She never called nothing. Okay. Do you know anything about her door being messed up? >> Yes. Okay. >> She told me about it the other day. She's been locking it. We've been the building shifted. I've fixed it before and it's popped open before. So, I just got to readjust it. >> Okay. >> Just got to readjust the plate that locks the >> Okay. I got some questions for you. All right. Was Lindsay over here? >> Was she over here? >> Yeah. >> No, >> she says that she was. >> Oh, recently. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah. door was open at her apartment and we couldn't find her. So, we were just trying to locate her and we called her multiple times and she says that she was over here hanging out with you. >> Yeah. >> What time did she come over? >> Uh, >> was this like message like did y'all message, hey, come over or anything like that? >> No, no, no. We talked earlier about uh on the phone about hanging out or whatever, but not no message or nothing like that. >> Okay. So, y'all talked on the phone. What time was that? Do you know? >> Uh, that was >> Can you find out for me? What's your first and last name? I'm talking with you, so I need to document it. Okay. K A L E N S K I N E R. >> What is going to happen? What are What are y'all trying to do? >> Well, we got to talk to everybody involved. >> Regardless of what happens, we can't just turn our shoulder and say, "Okay, we're gone." You know, >> you need to turn your shoulder. I'm just Several of y'all know me. Y'all know what type of mom I am. You'll have seen that from the situation. >> And I'm not a bad person. I'm just super stressed right now. I have a lot going on. She needs somebody to talk to for a few minutes. I have nobody else. >> What time does she come over? >> 12. >> About 12? >> Yes. I don't know what I did. >> Okay. So, I just want to be front with you. Okay. >> Did she come over for any particular reason? >> No, just just to hang out. >> Just to hang out. >> Yeah. Like no problem or nothing like that. >> Okay. >> Intercourse involved, anything like that? Nothing like that. So, it's just like hanging out. Yeah. >> Okay. Did you find the time that y'all called? Like whenever whenever before she came over, did you call her? She call you? >> I didn't. Well, I I could That's why I was just trying to find I couldn't find either one. I just went on my messenger. >> Did she call you like on your phone? She call you on like Facebook Messenger or >> Well, it was through it was through Messenger, but it wasn't a call. It was through text. But it was last time we text was around 10:53. That's when she was uh I think she was getting her kids situated or whatever with a little boy or whatever. >> So, she's going to put their kids to sleep and then come over. >> Uh I think so. >> Okay. >> Is she in trouble or something? >> She could be. She didn't come over there until 2:30. That's quite a while. You know what? If the kids woke up. >> Yeah, I understand. >> So, >> she has cameras in her house, >> but sometimes cameras can malfunction. So, uh Miss Carter, go ahead and take your hands out your pockets, please. You are being placed under arrest. abandoning and endangering your kids. Okay. Okay. But the thing is you left. You've been gone for over >> after we talked to everybody. It's going to be >> about an hour. It's >> been longer than an hour. Regardless if it's that you still left. There's a small child in there. Okay. >> And there's also a teenager in there. >> How old is the teenager? >> Your son is 12, almost 13. >> I thought it was only a 9-year-old in there. >> No, no, no, no. There is a almost 13year-old in there. >> No, my my boy. How old is How old is the little girl? >> She's nine. >> That's so There's the only 9year-old in there. Yeah. >> Oh no. >> There's a nine, a 14-month-old >> and a 12 almost 13. >> But you've been gone for over 2 hours, right? >> No, it has not been 2 hours. >> What time did you go over there? >> What time is it now? >> Almost 3. >> It was maybe 1:00. I don't think it was any earlier than that. And I was over here at 2:35. I'm pretty sure it was 1:00. I'm not 100% positive. I'm not trying to lie to anybody. But there is a 12-year-old and I'm right here. I never left the property. I was super stressed. I don't ever do this ever, >> man. He's only 12, though. >> I know. He'll be 13 here in just a couple months. >> What's a couple months? >> March 2nd. Very, very beginning of March. And he's very, very responsible. I would never ever ever abandon my kids. >> Well, it's not not There's intent. Okay. >> Abandonment for child of children with intent to return. There's two different types. There's >> I didn't mean it on its own. I should have watched my watch better. That is really on me. I was just meant to be gone for a few minutes, maybe 30 minutes, but not like this. Y'all arrest me. Where did my kids go? >> With your dad. >> And for how long am I in jail? Like I've never >> uh once you go, let's say you are arrested, right? When you're booked into Cherokee County, then you talk with the judge in the morning and then from there on. I I don't know. Where's the kid's dad's at or dad at? Sorry. >> Carrie is the one. That's the baby's dad. >> Is that the one that was here? >> Yeah. >> The last time I was here. >> Where's he at? >> In Quitman. You are going to send him with his dad. >> No, I'm just asking. >> He's in Quitman. >> And the other two, the one that they call dad is my ex-husband. He lives in Washington. Our court date for the domestic in January. >> That's go ahead and place your hands behind your back. Okay. >> You're going to be you going to be placed under arrest. Okay. >> Because you've been gone for a long time. Okay. So, you can't leave a 12-year-old in charge of a little minor and all that. Okay? It it is endangering a child. Okay? >> They're not endangered. They're asleep and I'm here on site. I didn't leave. >> Okay? It's it's still endangering. Okay? It's not with intent to abandon them. Never never returned nothing like that. Okay. But the thing is, you've been gone for almost 2 and 1/2 hours. Okay. >> It's less than two. >> Okay. You've been gone for quite a while. Okay. So, it is going to be you are going to be placed under arrest for that. I I even called my supervisor just to verify with him, make sure that I'm not missing something. But he said no. So that's what you're going to go to jail today for. Okay. We are going to have to call CPS. If they're okay with it, no problem. Which they're probably going to be fine. We're going to leave him with charge. Okay. You understand that part? >> Yeah. But they're not going to leave my kids with my dad. >> Okay. He's elderly and sick. >> Okay. Well, we'll go from there. And then if you got any sisters, somebody >> My mom >> mom will care where she live at. Does she have way to come down here? >> Go ahead and put your hands behind your back. Is >> there any way that I can use to restroom and change? >> No, because we can't go in there with you. >> I'm on my cycle. >> I understand. They'll take care of all that here in a minute. Okay. You have anything else in your pockets? >> You going to take that? >> No, we're not going to take No, we're not going to take your phone. Okay. Do you want it? >> We can take it with you. Okay. But I'm just saying I didn't want you using it before. Okay. >> I still don't understand. I was >> You can't You can't The thing is you weren't You were in someone else's apartment. You've been gone for almost 2 and 1/2 hours. >> Doors open. >> Doors are wide open. Regardless if the door was wide open or not, somebody will come up here and they find out you weren't here. You You're still gone. Okay. So, just go ahead and stand right here. >> What's the point in calling CPS if you can just call somebody else to take it? >> They have to be notified. >> She is going to go to jail. Okay. I mean, law. I mean, we we can't just turn our heads on this. She's been gone since 12. >> Yeah. We have to call CPS. That's dad. But she's saying that he's sick and elderly. Well, obviously he's elderly. But >> why she didn't give y'all her mama number? >> I got it now. But I still have to contact CPS and I have to wait for CPS to show up uh once that, you know, happens. >> Not CPS. Uh not CPS. Uh mom. >> Yeah, they got me, bro. >> Yeah, >> it's something they got. >> Yeah. >> Lindsay. >> Yes, Lindsay. That's what I'm sorry I'm trying to say. Okay. Uh she's fine. Okay. Everything's fine. But the thing is, uh, she is under arrest. She she's left her >> under arrest. >> She's under arrest. Uh, she had left her kids for well over two and a almost 2 and 1/2 hours in the apartment alone. Uh, but so she is going to jail for that. We have are contacting you after we've contacted CPS and wanting to see if you can come get the kids or somebody can come stay with them or however youall want to do it. >> Oh my god. >> And somebody had located the apartment door wide open. We went and officers went to check and she's been gone after we while we were here she was gone for well over almost almost an hour. Uh we found out she's been gone for over 2 and 1/2 hours. Are you going to be able to come get the kids or come stay with them? >> I can't drive at night. I I >> Okay. Well, let me call CPS back and let them know that you're not going to be able to come get them and uh we're going to have to figure something out. Do y'all have any other brothers? Does she have any brothers, sisters, uncles, somebody around here or anybody that can come? >> No, she doesn't. >> Okay. Where was she? >> Uh, she was at at a friend's house. >> I don't understand this at all, >> ma'am. I don't know this. I don't I don't understand this. >> Yeah, she was gone at a friend's apartment. >> I'm going to call my husband and see what we can do. And I don't I don't know. >> Where's he at? >> He's at work. He he he drives a truck. So, he he left for work about 3:00 this morning. So, he must have been there long, but >> uh she doesn't drive at night. Her husband's not home. >> She doesn't drive at night. >> That's what she says. She doesn't drive at night. I don't know if that means >> time I ever heard that. >> Are you going to be able to come? >> All right. They will be able to come. He's over in Lakeport right now. Hey, this is your grandmother wants to talk to you. Okay. >> How old are you? >> 12. Almost 13. >> Uh she said she's on her way. She wants me to get a little bit of stuff ready so we don't have to sit here for a whole another hour and then >> she's going to pick me What's your first name? >> Bill. >> You know this gentleman? >> Mhm. >> Your friend of yours? All right. Let me call CPS real quick. So, you'll be okay with staying with them till they mother gets here. Okay. Let me just in case the officer needs something. Did you know your mom was gone? >> No. >> No. >> What time you go to bed? >> Maybe 10:00 cuz I got here late because I have scouts. >> Okay. As soon as mom gets here or grandma gets here, will you give me a call? >> Yeah. We're here for paperwork reasons and then once I finish the paperwork here, uh, you'll be taken to Cherokee County and booked in. Okay. Just take a seat right here. >> Your mom is on the way for her husband. He was in Lakeport, but he's headed back. He's going to pick her up and come with child seat and everything. Okay. >> Is there any way I can use the restroom? I mean, I've been holding it for the hour. >> I understand. Um, >> but I'm in pain. >> We will let you go to the restroom. Okay. But I am going to have to ask you not to lock the door. So you're here. I >> obviously don't have anything on me. >> I understand. Um let's just I I not saying you are, okay? But listen, not saying you are, but don't do anything that's going to make this worse. Okay. >> No, >> it just you got to understand. >> It's bad enough. >> Yes. >> I've never I've never been in trouble ever in my life. Like this is >> understand. Let me see your key. I wish you'd be able to use restroom. Let's go over here. >> Okay. You go jail. Okay. J will see you first thing in the morning. You'll get a bond. Okay. >> I don't know what any of that means. >> Yeah. Just mean he'll tell you what you're being charged with, how much it's going to cost for you to get out. Eventually, you have to go to court on this. >> So, what if you don't have money to I mean, how does that happen? >> You can ask him. There are several things. He'll he'll explain to you. There's several ways. Okay. >> Okay. >> All right. The woman was charged with abandoning or endangering a dependent with intent to