Property owner and former neighbor speak out about 9-year-old girl found in trailer ‘starving’ and without water in Grantsville

GRANTSVILLE, Utah (ABC4) — After a 9-year-old girl was found living in a trailer with her mom without running water for several weeks, the man owning the property where the trailer was found spoke to ABC4, along with a former neighbor.

“It breaks my heart,” Scott Harris, who owns 40 acres of land near Grantsville Reservoir, said.

Charging documents show that the girl informed family members that she had been staying with her mother in a trailer for several weeks without adequate food and water. She mentioned that her mom would regularly leave her by herself for most of the day, often returning drunk or high on methamphetamine.

“[Deputies] told me that they had a report there was a 9-year-old girl on the property, and that she didn’t have adequate food and water,” Harris recalled. “It really made me angry because it is a parent’s responsibility to take care of their kid and you can’t have your kid living with you somewhere you can’t get food and water.”

Police say they found the girl “covered in dirt from head to toe,” and complaining of thirst. Deputies were later told that the child was periodically given a bucket of water that was supposed to be used for drinking and bathing.

ABC4 also spoke with Kylee Clark, a former neighbor of the girl, who says her boys used to play with her.

“She was the sweetest girl,” Clark said. “She was so smart despite her saying she hadn’t been to school in years. She was so thoughtful and had the cutest personality that just lit up the room.”

“These people are up there without our permission,” Harris told ABC4. “We originally let them stay up there for a few weeks while they were trying to find somewhere to stay, and it’s been really tough to get them to leave.”

Deputies quickly took the girl to a nearby hospital where doctors reportedly said another day or two without water could have been deadly.

“We got that place to have a place where our kids can always feel they have somewhere to go,” Harris added.

Clark says she was playful and silly and that her boys enjoyed swinging her on the swing set when they lived close.

“Her clothes were often dirty, she was left alone a lot, and sometimes her mom would even sleep outside in the shed while she stayed in the house by herself with the dogs,” Clark added.

The mother of the girl has been booked into the Tooele County Jail and is facing multiple charges including child abuse and child abandonment.

“Even though she wasn’t our child, we truly loved her and did everything we could to give her safety, joy, and care while she was with us,” Clark said.