A 5-year-old boy was found with an 18-month-old trekking through the bitterly cold snow when the power went out in their Venetie, Alaska home. Venetie is a remote area with a population of only 166 people, according to The New York Times.
The person who was supposed to be keeping an eye on the children had left them alone. The 5-year-old grabbed the toddler and walked about a half-mile to a neighbor’s house to ensure their safety.
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According to The New York Times, the 5-year-old was only wearing socks and light clothing as he walked in the snow toward their neighbor’s home in negative 31-degree weather. It’s not clear how the toddler was dressed.
In a statement from the Alaska State Department of Public Safety obtained by The NYT, both children suffered injuries as a result of the cold. What those injuries are is currently unknown to the public, however, they are expected to make a full recovery.
Ken Marsh, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said it took his guys over 12 hours to get to the remote area where the children live.
“It took 12 to 16 hours for them to actually get there. Fortunately, we were confident that the children were in good hands because a neighbor had taken them in and we had spoken with the neighbor.”
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Following the investigation, The New York Times reports that authorities arrested 37-year-old Julie Peter. She was charged with endangering the welfare of a minor. Marsh declined to reveal if Peter was the children’s mother, or if the children were at all related in order to keep the minors’ identities private.
It’s also unclear why Peter’s left the children alone that cold December night. And while it was determined that Peter did leave the children alone, it’s unclear how long they were left unsupervised.
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