A woman was arrested after allegedly leaving her four children at home alone while she took a cruise.
Nathalie Belizaire, a 29-year-old North Miami Beach resident, was charged with four counts of child neglect after failing to provide adequate childcare while she was sailing aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Conquest ship on a voyage that departed Sept. 25, according to an arrest affidavit filed in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Lether Bazile, who shares a 2-month-old daughter with Belizaire, told police that Belizaire said she planned to leave the infant and her three siblings with their great-grandmother. However, when he went to her residence on Sept. 26, he heard the children speaking and saw the TV on through the blinds, according to the affidavit.
Bazile contacted the authorities, who entered the apartment and found the children hiding in the bathroom without adult supervision. Their great-grandmother, Denise Wilkes, said Belizaire told her she was going to drop the kids off but never did, per the documents.
An attorney listed for Belizaire did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"U.S. Customs and Border Protection escorted a guest off Carnival Conquest upon the ship's arrival in Miami," Carnival told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. "This was a law enforcement matter unrelated to the cruise or the operation of the ship, and we refer questions regarding the case to the appropriate law enforcement authorities."
Belizaire’s brother, Steven Borgella, also told police that she texted him on Sept. 26 advising him to check on the kids. “The defendant was not present at the residence, and multiple attempts to contact the defendant were unsuccessful,” the affidavit said.
Authorities arrested Belizaire when she arrived at the port in Miami on Sept. 28. She declined to share a statement with police, according to the documents.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mother arrested for allegedly leaving kids alone while she took cruise
