Gulfport, FL—During routine patrol, Officer Christopher Priest noticed a mini-bus parked in the Gulfport municipal beach parking lot at 4:42 AM. Upon checking the vehicle, he found three children inside, ages 3, 6, and 9 years old.
The children told the officer that their mother had left them there at approximately 9:00 PM the night before and went out on a boat.
Gulfport marine patrol was launched to canvass the dozens of boats anchored just offshore, and officers located the mother, Andrea L. Kerins, onboard a vessel owned by a 46-year-old man named Yuri Radzibaba. They learned she had been smoking marijuana and that she intended to spend the night on the boat.
The children had no access to a phone to call their mother or to call for help. Inside the mini-bus, officers found a bin of mostly perishable food that had been left unrefrigerated. There was a five-gallon bucket near the front door that was designated as a makeshift toilet and a propane tank inside the passenger area. The children had no clothing other than what they were wearing.
Kerins was charged with three counts of felony child neglect. The children were taken, for the time being, by Florida Department of Children and Families.
