Police search for mother accused of abandoning two children for nearly two months

(ROMAN FOREST, TEXAS) — A Texas mother is wanted for abandoning her two children for nearly two months late last year, according to police.

Roman Forest, Texas, police said Thursday they have issued an arrest warrant for Raven Yates for two counts of abandoning/endangering a child without intent to return.

The father of one of the children, a 12-year-old girl, reported to police on Nov. 14, 2022, that she had been left home alone with her 3-year-old brother since Sept. 28.

They allegedly did not have food or supplies for much of this time and the two children were not registered in school.

The father, who lives out of state, flew in from California in November after his former mother-in-law saw her daughter, Yates, alone in Mobile, Alabama, police said. He came to realize the two children were alone because his daughter had been asking him to send them food regularly.

He alerted police and met them at the house where the two children were staying. The father does not live at the house, but he pays the rent, Roman Forest Police Chief Stephen Carlisle told ABC News in an interview.

Police did not find any food in the cabinets or fridge, but the kids were both healthy.

“I guess the 12-year-old was very resourceful. But she shouldn’t have had to do that,” Carlisle said.

The father of the 12-year-old took the two kids to stay with their grandmother in Mobile, Alabama.

Police also discovered that a few weeks before she allegedly abandoned the children in September, Yates reported that her third child, a 14-year-old, had run away. Somehow, the child was able to make it to their grandmother’s house in Mobile as well.

The three children are now safe with their grandmother in Alabama.

Yates is believed to still be in the Mobile area, and she has been posting regularly on her social media accounts, Carlisle said.

Police have been unable to locate Yates since first issuing a warrant for her arrest on Dec. 6. Police hope members of the public will come forward with information that could help them apprehend Yates.

Mobile police did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.