PITTSTON, Pa. -- Pittston police say four young boys were left alone last week in Pittston’s Riverview Manor, in filthy conditions, without food.
Their mother, Alissa Searles, is charged with endangering them.
"I've known them since they were born, all the kids since they were born, and they good kids, very good kids,” said one man who did not want to be identified. He says the children’s parents have had a tumultuous relationship.
According to court papers, cops were called to the apartment in Riverview Manor in Pittston last Friday.
The children's father told them Alissa Searles often leaves the young boys alone while she smokes meth.
Officers say they found no sign she was on drugs.
The kids are ages 5, nearly 3, and one-and-a-half-year-old twins.
Police say the home was "destroyed with no furniture in the living room and the kitchen a total mess" with "no food in the refrigerator" and "old food and dirty clothes all over the floor."
The children were put into the custody of grandparents.
"That's the best move for now so he can get himself together, you know, find stable employment, stable place to live and yeah, he'll be alright after that with his kids," said the man.
Alissa Searles recently posted several things on Facebook including a message which says she misses her babies. There was another message aimed at the children's father accusing him of making up lies about her and being the reason the children were taken away.
In a statement to Newswatch 16, she claims her children's father was abusive and says she lied repeatedly to protect him.
She claims he trashed the house, and she was in the process of packing up to leave with the children.
"The only crime I truly committed was protecting someone who abused me. I love my kids and they belong with me," she said.
Searles is free on bail until her next court appearance.