Mom abandons Texas kids, 12 and 3, for months and is captured in Alabama, police say

A woman was arrested in Alabama nearly five months after she abandoned her children in their Texas home, police say.

The Roman Forest Police Department announced the arrest on Wednesday, March 8, of Raven Yates, who has been charged with two counts of abandonment child endangerment without intent to return. She was captured in Mobile, Alabama, police said.

Yates is accused of leaving her 12-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son home alone on Sept. 8, police said. The girl’s father, who was working in California, discovered in November the children had been on their own, and he “immediately” flew to Texas, police said in a news release.

For most of the time the kids were abandoned, they were without access to food and medical supplies, according to police.

“The father had been informed that his child’s mother had been seen in Mobile, Alabama, without her children and realized they were home alone because he had been asked by his daughter to send food regularly,” police said.

An arrest warrant was issued in December, and Yates was found staying with a friend in Mobile, according to police.

A picture shared by the police department shows Yates smiling while detained in the cruiser.

“I don’t know if she was playing a part or whatever it is, but she, I think, was playing for the camera,” Roman Forest police chief Stephen Carlisle told KTRK. “She wanted to have a smile. She wanted to look good. The arresting officer reportedly said she asked about putting lipstick on before the photo was taken.”

Police said in February that the children were safe with a family member in Alabama.

Carlisle told The Montgomery County Courier the 12-year-old “did a really good job” caring for her sibling.

“But still, it’s dangerous to leave a 12-year-old with a 3-year-old without medical supplies, without resources, without supervision (and) without food,” Carlisle said.

Yates will be extradited to Montgomery County, Texas, police said.

Montgomery County, which includes Roman Forest, is part of the Greater Houston metropolitan area.

This story was originally published March 9, 2023 at 10:05 AM with the headline "Mom abandons Texas kids, 12 and 3, for months and is captured in Alabama, police say."