A Texas mother has been charged with child endangerment after her four children were found abandoned in Harris County this week.

Three of the children, the oldest one 4-years-old, were found in the street outside a house at about 10 p.m. Thursday night by teenagers, KPRC reported. The teens went inside the house and found the fourth child — 1-year-old — inside, having fallen out of the crib on to the floor.

The teens called for help, while other neighbors arrived to change the children’s dirty diapers and give them food.

Deputies said the house was in disarray with the refrigerator door open and food scattered around the rooms. The two boys and two girls were dirty.

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said one of the children told the deputies, “I think mommy is dead.”

“That was something that was very chilling,” the sheriff told reporters on Friday.

“Mommy” wasn’t dead, however. Angel Huff, 27, was at a motel on Highway 6 with Markel Dorsey, 31, Gonzalez said, and investigators said the children may have been alone for up to two days.

Huff was charged with four counts of abandoning a child under 15 and posted a $10,000 bond on Saturday, KTRK reported. Dorsey, who is reportedly the children’s father, remains in jail on charges of evading arrest and violating a protective order, with a $27,500 bond, jail records show. It’s not clear why he was not charged with child abandonment, but he was also cited for violating his bond conditions. He had previously been arrested for allegedly choking Huff.

The children were checked out by emergency medical services and did not have any life-threatening issues. KTRK said they had been placed with a trusted relative.

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[Featured image: Angel Huff and Markel Dorsey/Harris County Sheriff’s Office]

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