Police find bruised preschool-aged children in a hotel room with their heavily intoxicated mother.
Staff members at the Scottsdale Camelback Resort at 63rd Street and Camelback Road in Phoenix contacted police after an encounter with an intoxicated woman and her children.
Police say 38-year-old Emma Welch was with her two children, ages 3 and 4, in the pool area of the resort. Workers reportedly told police that the children were naked and Welch was partially exposed from her bathing suit.
They requested that she clothe her children, but Welch refused and managers escorted her and the children back to her room.
Welch then reportedly stumbled and kicked her son causing him to fall to the ground, according to police. She then allegedly picked him up by his hair and walked him to the room.
When police arrived to the hotel room later that night to check on the children, the 4-year-old answered the door saying, "She's here, she's not waking up."
Police found Welch "unconscious and highly intoxicated." They say the room was ransacked and the children were still naked. Police say the daughter had a large bruise on her face.
Welch reportedly admitted to drinking a bottle of vodka earlier in the day.
When police asked if she was the one watching the children in the pool area, she responded, "I don't know, I think I'm going to do the lawyer thing," according to court documents.
The Department of Child Safety took custody of the children.
Welch, who was visiting from Shelton, Washington, near Olympia, was arrested for two counts of child abuse.
If you suspect a child is being abused, the Arizona Department of Child Services has resources available to report the issue to a social worker. You can call the Arizona Child Abuse Hotline at 1-888-SOS-CHILD (1-888-767-2445), and will be asked for information about the child, as well as the nature of your concerns. You can also get more information from DCS about reporting abuse or neglect online.
