Three children were found living alone in “absolute squalor” in a Pontiac, Michigan, rental home after their mother abandoned them years ago, authorities said.

The 34-year-old mother was arrested last week, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release on Sunday. To protect the identity of the children — aged 15, 13 and 12 — her name was not released.

Sheriff Michael Bouchard called the children’s living conditions “abuse of the highest order.” Human waste and mold were found inside the home, garbage was thrown everywhere, and the children survived on weekly drop-offs of prepared food, the sheriff’s office said.

“This situation would be deemed deplorable and intolerable for an animal, and it is utterly unacceptable for three children,” Bouchard said in a statement.

“They have been deprived of any interaction with their mother and have not received an education for years,” he continued. “The far-reaching consequences of this abuse must be acknowledged.”

Deputies were called to the home on Friday afternoon to conduct a welfare check after the landlord said he had not heard from the mother since December, the news release states. The landlord said the mother had last paid rent in October and he was concerned that something may have happened.

When deputies arrived, they found the home in “deplorable shape,” the news release states. The children, a 15-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl, and a 12-year-old girl, were inside.

“Garbage was piled as high as four feet in some rooms, mold and human waste was found throughout, with the toilet overflowing and feces in the bathtub,” the sheriff’s office said. “Deputies checked the residence for occupants and found the boy and his sisters.”

The girls had locked themselves in the bathroom but opened the door when asked, authorities said.

The boy told deputies that their mother abandoned them in 2020 or 2021. Bouchard said at a news conference on Tuesday that investigators believe the initial abandonment was in the spring or summer of 2020.

Prepared food was left on the front porch each week for the children to survive on, the sheriff’s office. Bouchard said the mother or a delivery driver would leave the food.

The last time investigators believe the mother left hygiene items was in 2020, when she dropped off garbage bags, gloves and Febreze, the sheriff said.

“Towards the end, the children apparently were getting a loaf of bread dropped off that was supposed to last three to four days,” he said at the news conference.

The boy slept on a mattress on the floor and the girls on pizza boxes.

The condition inside the home was so bad that an evidence technician had to wear a hazmat suit to process the scene, authorities said.

The sheriff’s office said the mother had contact with the boy, “but it appeared she had not seen the girls in years.” None of the children had attended school since they were abandoned, the sheriff’s office said.

Bouchard told reporters that a school district received a request for records from another school in Pontiac, but it was never verified that the children moved to the new school. When they did not show up to the new school, they were removed from enrollment. 

“No one knew that they were nowhere,” he said.

It appeared as if the girls had not been outside for several years. The boy had come outside twice, once because he wanted to “feel the grass” and another time to check the mail,” the sheriff said.

“Just to hear that he came out to touch the grass is soul-crushing on so many levels,” he said, noting that the children were “scared” to leave the home.

They passed the time by watching television or playing games, the news release states. When they were found, they were wearing soiled clothing, their hair was matted and their toenails were so long it made it difficult for them to walk.

Neighbors told deputies they did not know the children lived in the home and never saw them outside, but would see the mother dropping things off.

The sheriff said the children’s father had been incarcerated for a period of time and when he got out filed paperwork in court for visitation. An agreement was reached in 2022, but the mother allegedly refused to let him see the children, the sheriff said.

The children were taken to the hospital for an evaluation. They have since been placed in the custody of a relative by Child Protective Services. In a Facebook post on Monday, the sheriff’s office said it was collecting donations for the children.

Bouchard said the case will be presented to the Oakland County prosecuting attorney.