The handwritten note was simple — and devastating.
Titled “How many times mom tells me that she can’t pick me up!” it contained 87 tally marks, a quiet record of how often a 14-year-old girl says her pleas for help went unanswered.
That note is now a key piece of evidence in a child abuse case unfolding in Alabama, where authorities say a mother and stepfather moved to Florida and left their teenage daughter to live alone for nearly a year.
Found Stumbling Outside a Dollar General
The investigation began Sunday after employees at a Dollar General called police when they saw a young girl stumbling along the road outside the store. Deputies said the teen appeared dizzy and complained of stomach pain.
She was taken to the hospital, where detectives learned she had allegedly been living alone since around February of last year — shortly after her 14th birthday.
According to the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, the girl told investigators her mother, Marchelle Lynn Pertilla, and stepfather, Eugene Medrano, moved about an hour away to Pensacola. She said the last time she saw them in person was October 31.
Living Alone With Seven Dogs — and One Dead
Deputies said the girl had been surviving largely on food sent through DoorDash or Walmart deliveries. Most communication with her parents, she told investigators, happened through Snapchat.
On Monday, detectives and Prichard Animal Control executed a search warrant at the mobile home where the girl had been living. What they found, authorities say, was alarming.
The interior of the single-wide trailer was reportedly covered in urine, feces, roaches, and trash. Seven dogs were found on the property. One dog was discovered dead inside a closet.
The surviving dogs were removed by animal control.
Parents’ Explanation Raises More Questions
Investigators later located and questioned the parents. According to the sheriff’s office, Pertilla claimed her daughter was left behind because she did not want to leave her service animals. Authorities say it remains unclear whether any of the dogs found at the residence were legitimate service animals.
Both adults were charged with child abuse and animal cruelty and booked into the Mobile County Metro Jail.
A Warning — and a Call to Speak Up
Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch praised the Dollar General employees whose call brought the situation to light.
“We are continuing to search for answers on why this young girl was living alone and whether or not others tried calling law enforcement,” Burch said. “Thank goodness for the employee with Dollar General who contacted the county. If you see something, say something. It could mean the difference between life or death.”
For investigators, the case now centers not just on what happened — but how long it went unnoticed. And for many, the image that lingers most is that quiet sheet of paper, marked again and again, counting the times a child asked for help — and didn’t get it.