Come to think of it, this is probably how all of those "Home Alone" movies would have really ended. A New Jersey mother was arrested and charged with second-degree child endangerment after leaving her 12-year-old daughter by herself for a week so she could fly to Washington to get married. Sarah Haines, 31, left her daughter in their Mount Olive home with three dogs and $10 to last her all week, and court papers say her daughter was "afraid to shower because she was scared since the front door unlocks itself." Perhaps the mom was just trying out this whole free range kid trend?
Haines, a single parent with full custody of her child, apparently told her daughter a friend would be checking on her while she was gone. She left on June 3rd and was supposed to return by the 6th, but her flights were allegedly canceled and she had not returned by the 8th. A concerned neighbor finally called the state Division of Youth and Family Services, who asked the police to conduct a welfare check on the girl. According to the affidavit, the apartment was messy and "permeated by the odor of animal urine." The daughter is currently in state protective custody.
One neighbor told WCBS, "No parent should leave a child alone at that age to do just whatever." Or to get married without her daughter's presence. Sarah's father said he was "shocked by this whole thing," but hopes that the incident will reunite him with his estranged daughter and granddaughter. Sarah Haines is being held on $100,000 bail, and should she be able to post it she will have no contact with her daughter until DYFS sees it fit.
