Florida mother allegedly leaves four kids home for a Bahamas cruise. First responders find them hiding in the bathroom

Four children, including a two-month-old baby, were hiding together in a bathroom when police entered their North Miami Beach apartment. Their mother was on a Bahamas cruise, and investigators said no adult was there to care for them, according to an arrest affidavit reviewed by ABC News.

The infant’s father, Lether Bazile, had been told the children would stay with their great-grandmother. He called 911 after visiting the apartment and hearing their voices inside, with a television visible through the blinds.

When the Carnival Conquest returned to PortMiami on September 28, authorities were waiting for their mother, Nathalie Belizaire. The 29-year-old now faces four counts of child neglect without great bodily harm.

Their great-grandmother was expecting them

A WhatsApp post first alerted Bazile to the trip. He told investigators that on September 24, he saw what looked like a Carnival ticket purchase and spoke with Belizaire, who said she would leave the children with their great-grandmother.

The ship sailed the following day. By Saturday evening, Bazile was outside the apartment calling for help, and North Miami Beach Police and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded.

According to WSVN, responders had to force their way inside. An officer’s body camera recorded the moment he found the children in the bathroom and called out, “There you are!”

Police said a two-year-old was there along with the two-month-old baby. The other siblings’ ages were not disclosed in the reports.

When investigators reached their great-grandmother, Denise Wilkes, she confirmed that Belizaire had told her she would bring the children over before going out of town. She said they never arrived, according to the affidavit.

Belizaire had also texted her brother, Steven Borgella, around 8 p.m. Saturday, asking him to check on the children, he told investigators. Police said they repeatedly tried to contact her but could not reach her.

Reported by WSVN, on September 28, detectives met the returning ship at PortMiami. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers took Belizaire into custody as she disembarked and handed her over to local police.

The children had been found the day after the cruise departed, not at the end of the voyage. How long they had been alone before responders arrived remains unclear from the reported timeline.

She could leave jail, but can not contact her children

Judge Mindy Glazer addressed the children’s ages when Belizaire appeared in court on September 29. “We’re just grateful nothing worse happened to these kids,” she said, according to WSVN.

Glazer ordered Belizaire to have no contact with the children pending further action in dependency court. She granted pretrial services with an alternative bond of $2,500 for each of the four counts, totaling $10,000.

Belizaire posted bond and walked out of jail Tuesday night, covering her face and declining to answer reporters’ questions, WSVN reported. Earlier that day, ABC News reported that she had not entered a plea and that her attorney had not responded to a request for comment.

The children’s living arrangements and contact with their mother are matters for dependency court. Those proceedings focus on their care while the criminal case addresses the neglect allegations.

According to Florida’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit, dependency judges decide where children stay, who can visit them, and what medical or educational support they need. A case plan can also spell out the steps a parent must take toward reunification.

For Belizaire, leaving jail did not lift the restriction on contacting her children. WSVN reported that the judge left that question to further action in dependency court.

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