TIRANA, June 6 – Police in Albania’s capital said they have detained a 47-year-old American woman over suspected child abuse after authorities located two children for whom the woman had filed a missing child report.
Grays Bailey-Kaye had told Tirana police her sons, 14 and 17, had gone missing a few days ago. She had told Albanian police the children had mental health problems.
Police found them near the Tirana Zoo, where local residents had reported seeing them beg for food.
The children were questioned in the presence of a child welfare psychologist and the children said they had left their apartment as a result of being beaten by their mother, local media reported. They did not appear to have any mental health problems.
Based on that information, prosecutors decided to file charges and police arrested the mother, who now faces charges under Albania’s Mistreatment of Juveniles Clause.
The two children have been placed in protective child custody at a facility for children at risk in Tirana.
Albanian media reported that there are seven children in the family, of which four are adopted, including the two who ran away.
