Police make heartbreaking discovery after spotting 6-year-old girl and her dog wandering alone on the street
The little girl and her dog were found in a neighborhood in Deltona, Florida
Niamh Shackleton
On Friday (April 4), law enforcement was alerted to a girl and a dog wandering around on their own.
A woman who lived in the area of Deltona, Florida, where the girl and her pet were spotted, called the police.
When the little girl, who later revealed that she was six years old, appeared at the woman's house, apparently she told her that she was 'hot, thirsty, and hungry', so the kind-hearted woman got the youngster some food, water and clean clothes.
Deltona Fire Rescue came along to check that the little girl was OK and healthy after Volusia Sheriff's Office deputies arrived at the scene.
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Writing about the incident of Facebook, law enforcement said: "Around 4:30 p.m. Friday, deputies responded to a home near Vann Park in Deltona, where a woman saw a 6-year-old child and her dog wandering in her front yard, then found her sitting in a chair in her carport."
It went on: "Responding deputies learned the girl's mom and mom's boyfriend dropped her off in the area in the morning. They also learned she was homeless and does not attend school.
"The little girl was taken to the Volusia Family Resource Center (VFRC), where her grandparents were identified and contacted to take custody.
"The VFRC is a full-scale assessment center that offers high-quality social services to juveniles and their families, and connects them with available resources and assistance."
The below video contains some strong language and footage some viewers may find distressing:
Along with the statement, police posted bodycam footage of officers' interaction with the six-year-old, who was very excited to travel in a cop car.
There was a sad moment when one of the officers asked if her parents said when they were coming back after walking her to the park, to which she said no.
The six-year-old also told the deputy that she wasn't in school, despite being at an age when she's supposed to be.
Elsewhere, different bodycam footage showed the moment police tracked down the little girl's mom and her boyfriend in the early hours of Saturday morning (April 5).
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"We're homeless and we live in the forest," claimed the girl's mom. "She got out of where she was at."
"I was trying to get water," she added.
The mom and her boyfriend have since been charged with desertion of a child and abandonment of an animal.