Mother arrested after abandoning three children on an island and fleeing with her boyfriend

Couple left on the pretext of bringing water

A South Carolina woman was arrested for allegedly abandoning her three children on Cemetery Island in Lake Hartwell and leaving with her boyfriend.

Courtney Danielle Taylor, her three children aged between 12 and 15, and her boyfriend Eric Elrod had been camping on the island since Sunday evening.

The children told the authorities that the next morning their mother and Mr Elrod left the island to get water, but never returned.

The minors were found stranded on the island by a passing boater at around 3.45pm on Monday, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office said. The vehicle, that the family used to travel, was also missing from where it was parked.

Initially, authorities entered Ms Taylor and Mr Elrod into the National Crime Information Center database as missing persons.

The officers, however, learned that the mother had allegedly been in contact with her ex-husband and children, Newsweek reported.

Ms Taylor was later spotted and arrested in Pickens County on Tuesday afternoon. She is facing three counts of unlawful neglect of child and is reportedly being held on a $15,000 (£12,358) bond.

Mr Elrod “remains at-large and wanted”, the officials said. He is wanted by the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office for an earlier charge of distribution of methamphetamine.

Cemetary Island is also known as Ghost Island due to the presence of 59 family graves in the region which belonged to the owners of a plantation.

The island lies along the Georgia border and is also a popular destination for water activities, birdwatching and camping.