An Iowa woman had to cut her European vacation short when police ordered her to fly home after they found her kids staying home alone.
Erin Macke, 30, of Johnston, Iowa, is accused of leaving her four children — all under the age of 13 — at home alone while she took a 12-day trip to Germany.
According to WHO-DT, Macke left the United States on Sept. 20 and was scheduled to fly back Oct. 1.
On Sept. 21, after the kids had been home alone for more than 24 hours, police called Macke and ordered her to fly home. She made it back on Sept. 27 and was arrested Sept. 28, according to KCCI-TV.
Police were tipped off about the kids' situation when the father of Macke's two youngest kids called them after he'd heard she left them alone. Officers arrived at Macke's apartment on a welfare check and found them — two 12-year-olds, a 7-year-old and a 6-year-old — alone.
Officers also found a gun in the home that was apparently within reach of the kids.
Macke faces multiple charges including four counts of child endangerment and a firearm charge.
"Obviously, being out of the country and unavailable for your children is not recommended and not something we want to encourage parents to do," a representative of Prevent Child Abuse Iowa told WHO.
Clint Davis is a reporter for the Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @MrClintDavis. Keep up to date with the latest news by following @ScrippsNational on Twitter.
