A mother is facing a felony murder charge after she was found in the woods near a Georgia resort with her 7- and 3-year-old daughters as temperatures dipped below freezing, resulting in the younger girl's death, according to the local sheriff's office.
The mom and her young daughters were in the woods for more than 11 hours before deputies found them, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) said in a statement on Wednesday.
Uriha Ridge, 35, is being held in the DCSO jail without bond on the murder charge, two counts apiece of first- and second-degree cruelty to children and a marijuana count, according to online jail records. The sheriff's office said in a statement on Wednesday that Ridge will have a court hearing on the murder charge later this week.
Newsweek reached out via email on Wednesday night to DCSO for comment. Jail records did not list an attorney for Ridge who could speak on her behalf at the time of publication.
Shortly before noon January 16, deputies responded to a call from a woman who said she was "lost" in the woods with her two children in the area of Foxhall Resort in Douglasville, Georgia, DCSO said in the statement.
Deputies, with the assistance of Foxhall employees, found the female, identified as Ridge, and her two children in a "wooden area far from the resort hotel where they were staying," according to the sheriff's office.
It was unclear at the time of publication if Ridge and her children are from Georgia or just visiting the state.
The mom and two girls were transported to an area hospital for treatment, where the 3-year-old girl died "due to what is believed to be exposure to the elements," DCSO said.
"Deputies noted that the children were soaking wet and knew the temperatures had been below freezing throughout the night," the sheriff's office said.
During the investigation, DCSO determined that Ridge had been "consuming illicit drugs" before and during the time she was in the woods with her daughters.
Investigators believe that Ridge and her children entered the woods near the resort at midnight and that Ridge did not call for help until 11:51 a.m., despite having a cell phone with a "properly charged battery," DCSO said.
"The consumption of illegal drugs is believed to be the root cause of why Uriha Ridge took her two small children into the woods, minimally clothed, in below-freezing temperatures, and in the rain for more than eleven hours, which led to the death of the three-year-old child and hospitalization of the seven-year-old child," the sheriff's office said, adding that the case "is still a very active and ongoing investigation."
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