NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. —
A North Fort Myers mother is in custody after reports that her 5-year-old child with autism was left alone at her house for almost eight hours.
According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, neighbors on Caterina Court contacted deputies after spotting the child near the road outside of the home. Deputies say the child was unclothed and without supervision.
The 911 caller told Gulf Coast News off camera the child was wrapped in a blanket and trying to eat Styrofoam from the garage. The neighbor said she gave the boy apple juice after she noticed he appeared to be dehydrated.
“Thank goodness for the neighbor and the people she lives with saw him just hanging out,” neighbor Angela Graves said while talking about the 911 caller. “They gave him some juice. I guess EMS said that he was really dehydrated, and she said that he sucked down the juice pretty quick.”
After responding to the home, deputies say there were no adults inside and that there was little furniture, a small amount of food and no running water. The child’s mother, Yvana Miller, 28, was later located, contacted and questioned.
Miller reportedly admitted she left her child alone while she worked an eight-hour shift at an assisted living facility in Cape Coral. She added that she monitored her child through a doorbell camera placed in the home.
The boy’s father spoke to Gulf Coast News over the phone and said their child is now safe and in his custody following a visit from the Department of Children and Families on Thursday. He added that Miller no longer lives with him in Fort Myers and had wanted to keep their son with her.
Neighbors like Ellen Schaeffer said the situation could have turned into a tragedy.
“There’s ponds all around these townhomes, and there’s no gates or fences,” Schaeffer said. “Can easily get in there and drown.”
Graves said she is grateful for her neighbor, who called 911.
“Anything could have happened to him,” Graves said. “I’m glad she saw him because it could have ended in a tragedy that nobody would have wanted.”
The child was evaluated by EMS and turned over to a family member by DCF, LCSO says.
“Being in an environment like that as a five-year-old, that can be very distressing,” said Ariella Vanhara, a licensed clinical social worker and clinical assistant professor of social work at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Vanhara emphasized that families in difficult situations can access resources to prevent such incidents.
“Through the Department of Children and Families, sometimes you can call and request services, as well as a parent saying, ‘I’m getting to my breaking point, I’m lacking child care, I’m lacking support to be able to provide for my child. And I need some assistance,” Vanhara said.
A call that could prevent what happened in this neighborhood.
“In those moments, you know, there is support along the way, like there’s respite care that’s offered if you need time to step away because you are only human and you can only handle so much before it becomes overwhelming,” Vanhara said.
Miller was arrested and is facing a charge of child neglect. She was taken to the Lee County Jail.
