Abandoned girl seen naked, searching through trash for food
A 12-year-old California girl was found going through garbage for food and wearing no clothes on Thursday February 16.
The girl’s mother, Tracy Lynn Betts, was arrested Thursday for child endangerment at Vail Elementary School in Temecula, where she works as a teaching assistant.
Her daughter was spotted going through a trash can by neighbor Dominique Prado, who was pulling weeds with her husband. The girl was covering herself with a car mat.
Prado called police, who found the girl in a nearby BMW, with tinted windows, after a search of the neighborhood. Betts, 40, reportedly left her daughter a block from the school in the BMW while she was working. Her daughter was left without clothes or shoes in order to prevent her from leaving the vehicle.
Authorities were told by Prado that the BMW was seen on their street for several days. Her husband noticed a woman walking to work on occasion. Prado’s two sons attend Vail, and she went to the school to confirm that Betts never had contact with them.
The girl was taken into protective custody and received treatment for unspecified ailments.
Betts was booked at the Southwest Detention Center. She was released from police custody Friday on $15,000 bail. Her court date has been set for April 12.
Phone messages for her husband went unanswered.
