Arizona Parents Charged With Child Neglect For Leaving 10-Year-Old Alone At Home For Weeks

An Arizona couple was arrested on charges of child neglect for allegedly leaving their 11-year-old son alone at home for two weeks. The child had not attended school during the entire time.

Officers responded to a welfare check call at the family's home in Elfrida, Cochise County, around 6:45 p.m. on Dec. 12, 2021. Deputies at the scene found an 11-year-old boy, who had been left alone in the house for "an undetermined length of time."

"The caller advised that there was a family living at the residence and the 11-year-old son was possibly there alone for an undetermined length of time," the Sheriff’s Office shared on Facebook.

According to the Cochise County Sheriff's Office, the mother, identified as Melissa Green, 34, left the house before Thanksgiving and went out of state. The father, identified as Bobby Jo Green, 40, left shortly after Thanksgiving, the Arizona Republic reported.

"The child was left alone during the entire time until contact with Sheriff Deputies was made," the Sheriff’s Office said.

The boy allegedly told the officers he had frozen food and that he had not been to school for at least two weeks before the welfare check.

Deputies attempted to contact the child’s parents and other family members but were unsuccessful. Later, the child was turned over to Child Protective Services, according to WHDH.

Both the Greens were arrested last Wednesday when they returned home from an unknown location, the Sheriff’s Office said.

"The report was submitted to the Cochise County Attorney's Office and both parents were indicted on charges of Child Neglect," the sheriff’s office said.

They have been booked into Cochise County Jail on three counts of child neglect and are being held on a bond of $100,000 each.

In a similar incident, an Oklahoma woman was arrested after she left her four children aged under 10 alone at home during a night out. Oklahoma City police found the four children unsupervised during a welfare check. The woman was charged with child neglect, driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license.