FORT BERTHOLD, N.D. -- A 24-year-old woman has been charged with child abuse this week on the Fort Berthold Reservation.
An affidavit from an FBI special agent says Michelle Wounded Face left two of her children alone in a car that wasn't running near Lake Sakakawea, according to KXMB TV in Bismarck.
One of the two kids under the age of 5 wasn't wearing a shirt and the other had a tank top on. Neither had shoes or socks.When police found the children they were scared and shivering. An AR-15 style rifle was in the vehicle.
After she left her children, Wounded Face took a vehicle from a man who was ice fishing without his permission, the affidavit said. She was found at a home nearby.
When asked later if she left her children to die she responded, "honestly, yeah," said the FBI report.
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The average temperature that day was 1 degree, with a wind chill advisory.
A judge ended a detention hearing when Wounded Face didn't appear to understand the proceedings. She's being held in Rugby.
Wounded Face is a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota who was living in New Town on the reservation.
