‘Thirsty And Hungry’ 6-Year-Old Girl And Dog Found Wandering Alone In Florida, Parents Arrested

A young Florida girl who was found wandering alone with her dog was “hot, thirsty and hungry” when neighbors found her, authorities said.

The Volusia Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to a home near Vann Park in Deltona at around 4:30 p.m. Friday after a woman found a 6-year-old girl and her dog wandering in her front yard, then sitting in her carport. The girl said she was “hot, thirsty and hungry,” do the woman and her neighbor gave her food, water, toys and clean clothes until authorities arrived.

Body-worn camera video shared by the sheriff’s office shows the girl explaining to deputies that her mom and her mom’s boyfriend had dropped her and the dog off in the area that morning because “they had to go somewhere.” Deputies also learned the girl had never been to school before.

Deltona Fire Rescue was called to the scene to confirm the girl was physically OK, and she was then taken to the Volusia Family Resource Center, which provides social services to juveniles and their families. The girl’s grandparents were identified and contacted to take custody, the sheriff’s office said.

At around 1 a.m. Saturday, members of the Deltona Crime Suppression Team located the girl’s mother and her boyfriend and arrested them on charges of desertion of a child and abandonment of an animal.