Bowling Green Police Division cited a man for endangering children after three young children were left alone in their apartment Tuesday night.
Police received a call at 10:26 p.m., from a resident at an apartment complex in the 200 block of East Napoleon Road. The caller said she arrived at the complex around 10 p.m., and saw a child yelling out a window for her father. The caller began talking with the child, who told her she was 6 years old and was watching her younger siblings. She reportedly said her mom was at work and her dad left, but she did not know where he went.
The woman waited until 10:26 p.m. to call the police, and waited outside the apartment for their arrival.
The 6-year-old, in her pajamas with a blanket wrapped around her, opened the door for police. She told police that no adults were home – her mom was at work and her dad had left the apartment.
As police were talking with the girl, another 1-year-old child appeared wearing only a diaper. Officers checked the back bedroom and found a 6-month-old asleep.
Police asked the 6-year-old if she knew her parents’ names or where they might be. She was only able to say part of her mom’s name, but did not know where she worked. Police asked if a home phone or cell phone were in the apartment, with the parents’ phone numbers. She said there were no phones in the apartment.
Officers were on the scene about 10-15 minutes, when Cordell Howe, 29, appeared at the door, saying he was the father.
Howe said he had taken the children’s mother to work in North Baltimore. He said he was only gone 15-20 minutes, though he said he also stopped at a gas station.
Howe told police they had just moved to Bowling Green two days ago. He said they had no friends or family here, so he left the children in the apartment while he took the mother to work, so she wouldn’t lose her job.
When police asked Howe for the names and birth dates for the children, he was reportedly unable to provide them.
The mother was contacted at her workplace. She told the officer that they had left the children alone because the infant was ill, and she didn’t want to take him out in the cold. She told police she did not want to lose her job. The mother said the 6-year-old was able to use a phone to call for help. However, there was no phone in the apartment.
The officer explained it was unsafe to leave young children home alone, and the mother said she understood. She told the officer she was just turning her life around and was working to support her family.
Police cited Howe for endangering children, but he was left with the children with the mother’s approval. A report was forwarded to Children’s Services for review.
