Boy in Florida was left alone in a trailer to take care of himself for months, police say

MIAMI—This story has shades of the 1990 holiday movie “Home Alone.”

But that classic film, starring Macauley Caulkin, was a comedy and had a happy ending.

This one ends with a child in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

A young boy was left to fend for himself for months in a Pensacola trailer, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report obtained by The Pensacola News Journal.

The child’s parents, Jennifer Nichols, 34, and Joshua Sanders, 32, were arrested Nov. 30 and charged with one count of neglecting a child causing great bodily harm.

A tip from the landlady alerted cops, who said the juvenile had been living alone for about two months.

He hadn’t been to school, and the trailer lacked furniture. According to the arrest report, the parents would drop in on occasion to give him some money and food.

The landlady told police that when she called the parents to alert them to the issue, Sanders told her that it was none of her business as long as the rent was paid.

The reports adds that the DCF was involved.

Sanders allegedly told investigators he wasn’t responsible for the child because he’d been emancipated, but the child said he was not.

Escambia County Jail records show both Sanders and Nichols were booked Nov. 30 and remain in custody as of Friday, in lieu of a $250,000 and $150,000 bond, respectively.