By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

Salisbury Police say a woman who left four young children at home so she could go to work has been charged with child abuse. It’s not clear how long the children were home alone.

Police charged Neydi Renteria Garcia, 22, of the 2600 block of Old Wilkesboro Road, with three counts of misdemeanor child abuse. Three of the children were Garcia’s and the other was a family member’s child.

A report said someone from the home called 911 and hung up the phone. Police went to the address to make sure everyone was OK and discovered a 1-year-old, a 2-year-old, a 5-year-old and a 6-year-old home by themselves.

Police Capt. Shelia Lingle said grandparents also live at the address, but were not at home at that time. It’s believed that Garcia went to work at Applebee’s, 207 Faith Road, where police served arrest warrants on Monday. The incident occurred in on a day in February, around 3 p.m.

Police say the Rowan County Department of Social Services is also investigating.