GRAHAM COUNTY — Child Protective Services were called in when a barefoot 5-year-old boy was found alone on U.S. Highway 191, south of Safford.
The incident occurred Tuesday, Oct. 4, at about 6:43 p.m., and Graham County Sheriff’s deputies spoke with the reporting woman who was keeping the child safe. She said the boy told her he was trying to catch up to his mother and brother.
The deputies were able to calm the boy and convince the child to walk them back to his home. They found an RV in what they called an “unlivable” condition, “filthy” with “garbage, feces and old food scattered around the floor and countertops.” They said the smell coming from the back “was almost unbearable,” and the boy also had a strong odor of urine about his person.
A neighboring RV was occupied by a man who claimed to be the child’s grandfather. He said the child’s mother, brother and grandmother had gone to a Thatcher restaurant, and the 5-year-old was supposed to walk himself to his grandfather’s RV.
Deputies were able to contact the mother by phone, who claimed she was walking her sister’s dog when they decided to stop at the restaurant. She said she left the 5-year-old alone playing games and he was to go to his grandfather when he “gets bored.”
Deputies waited nearly two hours for the mother to return, and she was questioned about the condition of the RV and the apparent lack of food. She replied there was canned food in the RV’s cabinets.
Deputies photographed the scene and contacted Child Protective Services about the 5-year-old and his 8-year-old brother. The deputies’ report was forwarded to the Graham County Attorney’s Office for possible child abuse charges.
