A Texas mother accused of abandoning two of her kids was all smiles when she was arrested three states away.
Authorities said they arrested Raven Yates in Alabama, more than two months after she disappeared.
“The popularity of it got a lot of people interested in it,” Roman Forest Police Chief Stephen Carlisle said.
Yates gained thousands of followers and has been trending on social media ever since she made headlines for accusations of abandonment.
Roman Forest police said she left her 12-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son all alone for two months.
Investigators said they had to fend for themselves with little food or medicine at a home in Roman Forest, Texas, while she lived in Alabama.
“I’ve never seen anything like that, and I’ve never seen anyone play into the camera and play into social media as she has,” Carlisle said.
The entire time, Yates was posting provocative images online while fully aware that there was a warrant out for her arrest.
Carlisle said tips poured in from the public, and that’s what eventually led to her arrest in Mobile.
A photo taken during Yates’s arrest shows Yates in cuffs and seemingly unbothered by the allegations that she put her own children in danger.
“I think, was playing for the camera. She wanted to have a smile. She wanted to look good,” Carlisle said.
Yates’ 12-year-old is with her father, who lives out of state.
Police said the child was afraid to tell her dad what was happening at first because she was worried she’d be separated from her brother, who has a different dad.
At last check, Yates’ other children were safe with relatives while she prepares to head back home now.
“We’re waiting for her to be extradited back to Montgomery County, and then, of course, we’ll be able to interview her, find out her side of the story, and then go from there,” Carlisle said.
If convicted, she could spend 20 years behind bars.
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