Iowa Mom Left Four Children Home Alone To Take Planned 11-Day Vacation In Germany, Police Say
Iowa mom Erin Lee Macke left her four children home alone so she could take an 11-day international vacation in Germany, Polk County law enforcement investigators say.
The 30-year-old Iowa mom has a set of 12-year-old twins and children that are six and seven years old, KWQC reports. The real-life Home Alone scenario ended on September 21, when police arrived to do a welfare check at the home after being told by the father of two of the youngest children, that Erin Macke had left them unsupervised.
Erin Macke reportedly told police investigators that her plans for a babysitter fell through before she left for the European vacation, so she left the twins in charge of themselves and their younger siblings. Law enforcement officials told local reporters the children were both “concerned” and “confused” about being left home alone.
Macke had not planned to end her Germany vacation until October 1, but Iowa law enforcement officials urged the Iowa mom to change her plans. The Polk County woman was contacted and ordered to return back to the United States immediately after the welfare check on her children.
Erin Macke was gone for six days before she opted to end her trip and come home early. Even though her trip was cut short, the Iowa mom managed to share some smiling selfies from her time spent on vacation in Germany, according to posts on her social media account shared by the Daily Mail.
One of the photos shared via Instagram showed the Polk County mom throwing her hands up in the air and smiling broadly along the Danube River in Bavaria.
Erin Lee Macke pictures,left her four young children home alone https://t.co/GHrsTl9ZRn pic.twitter.com/Ht42BDdXxC
— infowe (@infowe) September 29, 2017
It is not yet known why Macke decided to travel to Germany, but recreational activities appear to have been on her agenda. Her trip coincided with the annual Oktoberfest in the country. This year the event took place from September 16 through October 3.
Additional photos shared on social media showed Erin Macke and a friend posing outside of the Walhalla Memorial and the Regensburg Cathedral, also in Bavaria. At least one of the photos shared by Macke include an image of an infant.
Staffers from the Iowa Department of Human Services have taken custody of Erin Macke’s four children. The youngsters who were allegedly left alone while their mother took a trip to Germany have now been placed temporarily in the care of relatives.
“I’ve never heard of anything like this before. We have situations where parents go next door or parents may go out for the night, and while that’s not advisable either depending on the age of the children, obviously leaving the country is a totally different situation. This, where a parent has left the country and left the kids home alone, I’ve never heard of it before,” Johnston, Iowa police Lt. Tyler Tompkins said.
Erin Macke has been charged with child endangerment and one count of transfer of pistol or revolver to a person under 21, KCCI reports. She is being held at the Polk County Jail without bond pending an upcoming court hearing.
[Featured Image by MIA Studio/Shutterstock]
