9-year-old child found ‘starving’ and ‘extremely thirsty’ after being kept in trailer for weeks near Grantsville Reservoir

GRANTSVILLE, Utah (ABC4) — A 9-year-old girl was found living in a trailer with her mother for several weeks without running water.

The girl’s mother, who ABC4.com will not be identifying to protect the child, was arrested Wednesday afternoon on suspicion of child abandonment and intentional child abuse.

According to court documents, on Sept. 18, the girl informed family members that she was staying with her mother in a trailer near Grantsville Reservoir for several weeks. The child allegedly told family her mother would leave her by herself for most of the day, and often return drunk or high on methamphetamine.

Police say the mom is reported as being violent at times, both verbally and physically.

Documents show that when police found the 9-year-old victim, she was covered in dirt “from head to toe,” with a torn dress. She was reportedly complaining of thirst and appeared dehydrated.

The girl was quickly taken to the hospital where she told doctors of the conditions in which she had been living. Police say doctors were told she hadn’t had a drink of water in two days due to the trailer having no running water. She also said she seldom had a change of clothes.

At one point, the child mentioned wandering in the wilderness alone for 45 minutes looking for her grandmother who was supposed to pick her up. While wandering, she reportedly fell multiple times, leading to minor injuries on her lower body.

The child also recalled looking in other trailers for food and water, adding that her mother would sometimes bring back a bucket of water that was for drinking and bathing.

Police say that after several hours of the child being with officers, the mom had not reported her child as missing from the campsite.

On Sept. 24, deputies with the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office served a warrant at the campsite where the girl had allegedly been kept.

Police say they observed three trailers, one of which belonged to the mother. Inside, officers reported finding two adult dogs, several puppies, dog feces on the ground, and “garbage strewn all over the place.”

Doctors told police that a few more days without water would have likely caused the child serious injury or even death.

The mother was booked in the Tooele County Jail on a felony charge of child abandonment, a third-degree felony and child abuse, a misdemeanor.