Filthy, Half-Dressed, Hungry Children Found Alone On Minibus

GULFPORT, FL — During the season of giving, three children are spending the holidays in state custody after being found alone on a filthy, trash-strewn mini school bus where a plastic bucket served as their toilet.

Gulfport police said they made the discovery at 4:42 a.m. Saturday when they investigated a mini school bus bearing the name Meg's Playhouse and Preschool parked overnight at the Gulfport Municipal Marina, 4630 29th Ave. S.

Inside were three children ages 3, 6 and 9. They were filthy, half-dressed and surrounded by trash, police said.

They told police they were hungry and hadn't had dinner the previous night, police said. The only food inside the bus were some perishable items that had spoiled because they'd been left unrefrigerated, police said. The minibus contained a number of hazards including a propane tank, police said, and a 5-gallon bucket served as a makeshift toilet.

The children said their mother, Andrea L. Kerins, 33, a transient whose last known address was in Lafayette, Tennessee, left them around 9 p.m. Friday to go out on a boat with a friend.

Gulfport Police Marine Patrol began to canvass dozens of boats anchored offshore and eventually located Kerins onboard a boat owned by a 46-year-old Yuri Radzibaba. Police said she had spent the night smoking marijuana and partying.

Kerins was arraigned Sunday on three counts of child neglect and was being held on a $30,000 bond.

The children are now in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Police said the name on the bus belongs to a defunct organization with which Kerins was not affiliated.