Mom's NYC 'de-stress' junket leaves daughter home alone

They found the young child alone in an apartment that was "filthy, dirty and disheveled," Chitwood said.

The girl told police that her mom went "a long, long way away" to the store and that she had gone on such trips at least five times, Chitwood said. The girl said that her mother told her to hide in the closet if anyone came to the door.

When cops called Kersey at 5:30 p.m., she was on her way back from New York and told police that she would come to the station when she returned.

"She said she took the bus to New York City, walked around and took the bus back," Chitwood said. "She says being a single parent with no support frazzles her mind and this is her de-stresser, to get on the bus and go to New York and leave her child alone."

Kersey was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person. Her daughter was placed in the custody of Children and Youth Services.

In the second case, two siblings, ages 9 and 11, who had been alone at their East Lansdowne house since last Friday, called police on Tuesday and reported their mother, Melissa Melba Brown, missing.

But after police released information about her disappearance, several people called to report seeing her, and she returned home Wednesday afternoon, according reports.

East Lansdowne Police Chief John Zimath was unavailable for comment. Zimath told the Delaware County Daily Times that Brown likely would be charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

Blog: PhillyConfidential.com