How could it happen?

Why didn’t relatives or friends or the school system know that three Pontiac kids had been existing in what’s described as “absolute squalor” for nearly five years after they were reportedly abandoned by their mother — left to live in a home with human waste throughout, garbage piled several feet high, a broken toilet and a feces-filled bathtub?

And what about the children’s father? Why hadn’t he intervened and saved them?

At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard answered these questions and more on the shocking case of three kids rescued last Friday from the filth-ridden home.

“It’s unbelievable three kids fell off everybody’s map for years,” Oakland County Sheriff Bouchard said.”It’s one of the most tragic long-term abusive situations I’ve seen.”

The disturbing scenario was uncovered last Friday when sheriff’s deputies responded to a home on Lydia Lane in the Stonegate Pointe townhomes development to conduct a welfare check on request of the landlord. He was reportedly concerned about the occupants, noting the rent hadn’t been paid for months. Bouchard said deputies went to the home believing they were checking up on the renter — but instead found the 15-year-old boy and his sisters, ages 12 and 13, living in a deplorable environment that the sheriff said wasn’t fit for animals.

Evidence technicians wore HAZMAT suits to process the scene, Bouchard said.

The mother was arrested that same day and is held in the Oakland County Jail. Preliminary findings of the investigation by the sheriff’s office are now under review by the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office for consideration of charges.

According to Bouchard, investigators have learned:

• The children’s mother told family members and friends that the kids were being cared for by babysitters or others, and were unaware of what was really happening with them.

• The children’s father had been incarcerated for a period of time and had lost contact with them; after being released he reportedly sought visitation but the mother didn’t comply with a consent agreement. Bouchard said the purported timeline warrants further investigation.

• Because of a communication breakdown in the school system, the children remained unaccounted for; they were supposedly due to transfer from one school to another, but never attended and no follow-up occurred. Bouchard is calling for state legislation to close “gaps in the school code,” and require verification before students are dropped from school rolls.

• The 15-year-old said they got food weekly from their mother or a stranger, the latter being deliveries from companies like Door Dash or Instacart. Most recently, the kids were provided just a loaf of bread every three or four days.

• The mother was living elsewhere in Pontiac for the past several years— though Bouchard declined to elaborate.

• The 15-year-old was the only one to step out of the home during the nearly-5-year confinement, venturing outdoors just two times. “He came out twice — once to feel the grass and the other time to check the mail… it’s soul-crushing on so many levels.” Bouchard said.

Bouchard also said he doesn’t know what the mother specifically said to her kids to keep them in the home alone for so many years, but that “they were scared. They were afraid to leave.”

Also, he said, it was “their reality” — with the oldest sibling just 11 years old at the time they were abandoned. “They had no adult contact…no benchmark — they had nothing to compare it to,” he said.

Kids improving, long road ahead

The three children, who were medically evaluated after being rescued and are now living with a relative, are slowly showing signs of improvement, Bouchard said.

“They’re already making progress…(due to) tender love, supportive care and basic hygiene” that has been provided over the past few days, Bouchard said, adding, “it’s super exciting to see that happening.”

But there’s a long way to go, Bouchard said, with further assessments needed for their physical and mental health and to determine their educational needs moving forward.

Commending residents for stepping up with donations for the youngsters, Bouchard said: “This is one of the most generous communities, I think, in the world.”

There’s no longer a need for clothing, since “bags and bags” have been contributed, he said, but monetary donations are still needed to help cover medical bills, mental health treatment and other expenses. Bouchard has put the call out for a legal firm to set up a trust for the monetary donations. So far, close to $20,000 has been donated, he said.

An account is set up with the charity, Mission Oakland, and 100% of donations will go to the children, Bouchard said. To donate, go to https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/VH7AA48ELKEFC