MOBILE, Ala. — A Texas woman accused of leaving her two young children home alone for nearly seven weeks last year was arrested in Alabama on Wednesday, authorities said.
Raven Sywaun Yates, 31, of Roman Forest, was arrested in Mobile, according to Mobile County online booking records. She is awaiting extradition to Texas, where she will face counts of abandonment-endangering a child without intent to return, WPMI-TV reported.
Yates is accused of leaving her 12-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son home alone from Sept. 28, 2022, to Nov. 14, 2022, WALA-TV reported. Authorities said she allegedly left her children alone without access to food or medical supplies. A warrant for her arrest was issued in Texas on Dec. 8, 2022, according to KTRK-TV.
Investigators alleged that Yates threatened her daughter that the girl’s father would take her and leave her brother alone if she told anyone about being left home alone, the television station reported.
The girl would get food by telling her father that Yates was working, and he would order them meals from California, where he was working, according to KTRK. It was not until family members spotted Yates in Mobile, where she is originally from, that they contacted the children’s father, the television station reported.
That was confirmed when Yates began posting on social media about the situation, according to Roman Forest police Chief Stephen Carlisle, WALA reported.
The children’s father flew to Texas after the warrant was issued to be with his children, according to KTRK. In addition to living at home alone, the children were not registered in school.
Acting on a tip, the U.S. Gulf Coast Violent Offender Fugitive Task Force went to an apartment complex in Mobile, where Yates was staying with a man, according to KTRK. She was arrested at about 4:30 p.m. CST.
“She was photographed in handcuffs with a full smile on her face and seemingly unbothered by the charges against her for allegedly putting her own children in danger,” Carlisle said, according to the television station. “I don’t know if she was playing a part or whatever it is, but she, I think, was playing for the camera. She wanted to have a smile. She wanted to look good. The arresting officer reportedly said she asked about putting lipstick on before the photo was taken.”
