South Carolina mother accused of abandoning her 3 children on island
06/16/2022 1:13 pm PDT
TOWNVILLE, S.C. (TCD) -- A mother was arrested after allegedly abandoning her children on a Lake Hartwell island.
According to a news release from the Anderson County Sheriff's Office, the incident was initially being investigated as a missing persons case after Courtney Taylor was last seen leaving Cemetery Island. Deputies responded to the lake on Monday, June 13, at approximately 3:45 p.m., and found three stranded children, ages 12, 13, and 15, WYFF-TV reports.
The children were allegedly camping on the island the night before with their mother, Taylor, and her boyfriend, Eric Elrod.
The children reportedly told authorities their mother said she was going to get water, and she left the island with her boyfriend in their car but never returned.
On Tuesday, June 14, Taylor was arrested on three counts of unlawful neglect of a child, records show. She was released the following day.
According to WYFF, Elrod is wanted for distribution of methamphetamine and other charges by the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office.
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