Mother and stepfather arrested for allegedly absconding after leaving daughter home alone with dog feces and urine

Need to know

• Mother and stepfather of 14-year-old girl arrested in Alabama on child abuse and animal cruelty charges

• It comes after a teenager was sent to the hospital after being spotted stumbling in the street near a Dollar General store.

• Police executed a search warrant at her home and found the interior covered in urine, feces, roaches and garbage — and officers also found a dead dog and six puppies there.

A mother and stepfather have been arrested after allegedly leaving their 14-year-old daughter alone with her pet.

Marcelle Lynn Pertilla and Eugene Medrano were charged with child abuse and animal cruelty, according to local outlets WALA, WKRG and KOLD citing the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office. (MBSO)

PEOPLE reached out to the sheriff’s office for comment on Saturday, Jan. 10, but did not immediately receive a response.

MCSO told local outlets that their investigation into the case began on Jan. 4 after employees at a Dollar General reported seeing a teenage girl stumbling across the street in front of the store.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found the girl, who they said was experiencing dizziness and stomach pains, and was taken to the hospital for treatment.

At the hospital, detectives interviewed the teenager, and she claimed that she had been living alone at home with her dogs since February of last year and that she had not seen her mother and stepfather since October 31. He went to Pensacola, Fla. without them, according to KOLD. He also alleged that he had gone.

She also told officers that her main communication with her parents was through the social media app Snapchat and that her mother would send food to the outlet via DoorDash or Walmart delivery.

The next day, officers with Pritchard Animal Control executed a search warrant at the teenager’s mobile home in Eight Mile, which they said was covered in urine, feces, roaches and trash. They found a dog dead in a closet and six more dogs living on the property, which were taken by Pritchard Animal Control, according to WALA and KOLD.

Detectives said, according to the outlets, that they also found a handwritten note from the teenager titled “How many times can mommy not pick me up!” And said it has 87 tally points.

Officers located the teenager’s parents and questioned them about the incident. Pertilla reportedly told detectives that the teenager was left alone because she refused to give up her service animals, per KOLD. It was unclear whether any of the dogs were service animals.

Pertilla and Medrano were then taken into custody and transported to the Mobile County Metro Jail.

Mobile County Sheriff Paul Birch said in a statement to KOLD and WALA, “We are looking for answers as to why this girl was left alone and whether or not others tried to call law enforcement.”

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“Thanks to the staff with Dollar General who contacted the county, and we were able to respond. If you see something, say something. It could mean the difference between life or death,” he added.

If you suspect child abuse, call the ChildHelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in over 170 languages.

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