GRANTSVILLE, Utah (ABC4) A 9-year-old girl was found living in a trailer with her mother for several weeks without running water.

A woman was taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon, suspected of child abandonment and deliberate child abuse, though her identity remains confidential to safeguard her daughter.

As per court filings, on September 18, the young girl confided in relatives about spending several weeks in a trailer near Grantsville Reservoir with her mother. The child purportedly revealed that her mother frequently left her alone for extensive periods and would often return while under the influence of alcohol or methamphetamine.

Police say the mom is reported as being violent at times, both verbally and physically.

Records indicate that when police discovered the 9-year-old, she was filthy “from head to toe,” wearing a torn dress. She reportedly expressed severe thirst and showed signs of dehydration.

Rapidly transported to the hospital, the girl recounted her living conditions to doctors. Medical personnel documented that the child reported not having access to water for two days, as the trailer lacked running water. She also mentioned rarely having clean clothes to change into.

During one incident, the girl described wandering in the wilderness for 45 minutes in an attempt to find her grandmother, who was supposed to collect her. While searching, she reportedly stumbled several times, resulting in minor injuries to her lower body.

Additionally, she recalled searching other trailers for sustenance, commenting that there were instances when her mother returned with a bucket of water for both drinking and bathing.

Police say that after several hours of the child being with officers, the mom had not reported her child as missing from the campsite.

On Sept. 24, deputies with the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office served a warrant at the campsite where the girl had allegedly been kept.

Police say they observed three trailers, one of which belonged to the mother. Inside, officers reported finding two adult dogs, several puppies, dog feces on the ground, and “garbage strewn all over the place.”

Doctors told police that a few more days without water would have likely caused the child serious injury or even death.

The mother was booked in the Tooele County Jail on a felony charge of child abandonment, a third-degree felony and child abuse, a misdemeanor.