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A Texas mother was arrested for allegedly leaving her two young children home alone while she went on a cruise. Authorities said that Lakesha Woods Williams, 29, was seen leaving her Houston apartment on April 4 with luggage. She reportedly boarded a flight to Miami, Florida, and went on a cruise to Puerto Rico.
Five days later, a neighbor noticed that Williams had not returned and called for a welfare check at her apartment.
When officers arrived, they found an eight-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl alone in the apartment. The officers noted the apartment reeked of urine and that trash and food were strewn about.
Officers said that the two children spoke to Williams on video chat while she was away and that the young boy was exchanging text messages with her.
The children were in good health and were placed into the custody of a relative.
Williams returned from her vacation on Wednesday and was taken into custody the next day. She is facing a felony charge of abandoning a child with intent to return.
"These children were definitely left unattended for many days and put in serious harm's way," Keegan Childers, the chief prosecutor of the 209th District Court, told KTRK. "For them to provide for themselves, feed themselves, take care of themselves, as well as what if somebody breaks in? What if there's a bad neighbor? Any number of horror, nightmare scenarios that could come up."