Marchelle Lynn Pertilla and Eugene Medrano have been arrested and charged with child abuse and animal cruelty, according to local outlets WALA, WKRG and KOLD, citing the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office said the investigation began on Jan. 4, after employees at a Dollar General reported seeing a teenage girl stumbling along the road in front of the store. Deputies responded and located the 14-year-old, who reported dizziness and stomach pain. She was taken to the hospital for medical treatment.
At the hospital, detectives interviewed the teen. She allegedly told investigators she had been living alone at her home with her dogs since around February of last year, and that she had not seen her mother and stepfather since Oct. 31, according to KOLD. She also alleged the adults had moved to Pensacola, Florida, without her, the outlet reported.
The teen also said her primary communication with her parents was through Snapchat, and that her mother would send food through DoorDash or Walmart deliveries, per KOLD.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/Girl-Lives-Alone-02-011026-da530390e11a4802920a461d08626897.jpg)
The next day, deputies—working with Prichard Animal Control—executed a search warrant at the teen’s mobile home in Eight Mile. Authorities said the home was covered in urine, feces, roaches and trash. Investigators found one dog dead inside a closet and six other dogs on the property, the outlets reported. The surviving dogs were taken by Prichard Animal Control, according to WALA and KOLD.
Detectives also reported finding a handwritten note from the teenager titled, “How many times mom tells me that she can’t pick me up!” that appeared to include 87 tally marks, according to the outlets.
Authorities later located the teen’s mother and stepfather and questioned them. Pertilla allegedly told detectives the teenager was left alone because she refused to leave her service animals, according to KOLD. It was not immediately clear whether any of the dogs qualify as service animals.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(773x244:775x246):format(webp)/Girl-Lives-Alone-011026-82081d78c5db4b7388378d3582bc6801.jpg)
Pertilla and Medrano were reportedly detained and taken to the Mobile County Metro Jail.
“We are continuing to search for answers on why this young girl was living alone and whether or not others tried calling law enforcement,” Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said in a statement cited by KOLD and WALA.
“Thank goodness for the employee with Dollar General who contacted the county, and we were able to respond. If you see something, say something. It could mean the difference between life or death,” he added.
