MIAMI (WSVN) - A 29-year-old mother was arrested after police said she left her four young children home alone while she went on a three-day Carnival cruise to the Bahamas.
Nathalie Belizaire faces four counts of child neglect after investigators said the children, including a 2-month-old infant and a 2-year-old, were discovered without adult supervision at her North Miami Beach residence.
According to a North Miami Beach Police arrest report, officers responded to the home on Sept. 26 after the father of Belizaire’s 2-month-old daughter became concerned about the children.
The father told investigators he had seen a post on Belizaire’s WhatsApp story two days earlier that appeared to show a Carnival Cruise Line ticket.
He said Belizaire told him she planned to leave the children with their great-grandmother while she was out of town.
When he returned to Belizaire’s residence on Sept. 26, he told police he saw a television on through the blinds and heard the children talking inside.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel forced their way into the apartment because of concerns for the children’s welfare, according to the report.
Once inside, first responders found all four children without an adult and hiding together in a bathroom, police said.
Investigators contacted the children’s great-grandmother, who told them Belizaire had said she would drop off the children before going out of town but never brought them to her home.
Belizaire’s brother also told investigators he received a text message from her at about 8 p.m. that night asking him to check on the children, according to the report.
Police said repeated attempts to contact Belizaire were unsuccessful.
Investigators later determined Belizaire had purchased a three-day trip to the Bahamas aboard the Carnival Conquest, with a Sept. 25 sail date.
Detectives went to PortMiami on Sept. 28, when Belizaire was scheduled to return from the cruise.
Police said U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers took her into custody as she disembarked and turned her over to North Miami Beach Police.
She was arrested on four counts of child neglect without great bodily harm.
During Tuesday’s bond court hearing, the judge expressed concern about the children’s ages and the allegations.
“We’re just grateful nothing worse happened to these kids,” the judge said.
Belizaire was ordered to have no contact with the children pending further action in dependency court. The judge granted pretrial services with an alternate bond of $2,500 per count, totaling $10,000.
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