Left: Andrew Dick. Right: Feather Roberts (Glenpool Police Department).
An Oklahoma mother and father allegedly left their three kids — ages 8, 5 and 1 — home alone while they went to play pickleball. Cops say the couple gave the children an iPad "as a way for them to call if something happened."
Andrew Dick and Feather Roberts were approximately 20 minutes away when a "911 hang-up call" came in and cops showed up at their home in Glenpool, according to a police press release posted on Facebook.
"The reporting party told officers they suspected three children, ages 8, 5, and 1, had been left home without adult supervision," the press release says. "The reporting party contacted Feather Roberts, who stated that she and Andrew Dick were playing pickleball at Courts and Commons in Bixby and indicated the children were with sitters."
Police say the reporting party went to the residence and discovered that the children were not home with an adult. Officers responded and confirmed that the 8- and 5-year-old children were watching television while the 1-year-old was asleep, per the press release.
"Dick and Roberts returned to the residence while officers were investigating and confirmed they had been in Bixby playing pickleball," the release says. "When officers asked how the children could contact them in the event of an emergency, Roberts stated the children had access to an iPad they could use to call."
As cops investigated, they received information "indicating this was not the first occasion" that Dick and Roberts had left their children home alone, according to the press release. Officers also learned the couple had "arranged childcare" for their youngest child, an infant, while the others remained at the residence "without adult supervision," the release alleges.
Dick and Roberts were arrested on three counts of child neglect.
"The children were found safe and in good health," the police release says. "The Oklahoma Department of Human Services was notified."