The Brief
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A 6-year-old girl and her dog were found wandering in a woman’s front yard on Friday in Deltona.
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Authorities learned the child was homeless and did not attend school. The child’s grandparents have now taken her into custody.
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Deputies said they have arrested the girl’s mother and her boyfriend, who are facing charges of desertion of a child and abandonment of an animal.
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Deputies say they have arrested a Florida mother and her boyfriend after they abandoned a 6-year-old girl and her dog on Friday in Deltona.
Authorities learned the child was homeless and did not attend school. The child’s grandparents have now taken her into custody.
‘Hot, thirsty and hunrgy’
The backstory
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said they responded to the incident at a home near Vann Park around 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
A woman told deputies she saw the girl and her dog wandering in her front yard. She then later found the girl sitting in a chair in her carport.
A woman told deputies she found the girl and her dog in the front years of her Deltona home. (Credit: Volusia County Sheriff’s Office)
The woman said the girl told her she was “hot, thirsty and hungry,” so she and a neighbor brought the girl food, water, toys and clean clothes.
Deltona Fire Rescue responded to check the girl’s vitals and confirm she was OK.
Responding deputies said they learned the girl’s mom and mom’s boyfriend dropped her off in the area in the morning. The girl told first responders that she had been dropped off and left at the park because “mommy and daddy needed to go charge their cell phones.”
Investigators also learned the girl was homeless and did not attend school.
The girl was taken to the Volusia Family Resource Center, where her grandparents were identified and contacted to take custody, officials said. Her dog has been turned over to Deltona Animal Control.
Mother and boyfriend arrested after alleged abandonment
What we know
Around 1 a.m. on Saturday, authorities said they tracked down the girl’s mom and her boyfriend — Aquania Estes, 27, and Pitrez Floyd, 29.
Deputies said they took them both into custody, and the pair are facing charges of desertion of a child and abandonment of an animal.
Deputies said they arrested the 6-year-old girl’s mother, Aquania Estes, and her mother’s boyfriend, Pitrez Floyd, on Saturday on charges of desertion of a child and abandonment of an animal. (Credit: Volusia County Sheriff’s Office)
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The Source
This story was written based on information shared by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office in a Facebook post on April 5, 2025, as well as in an arrest affidavit.
