JACKSONVILLE, FL -- A 2-year-old girl survived on ketchup, mustard and dried pasta for nearly three weeks after she was left home alone while her mother served time in jail.
The child was recovering from malnutrition Tuesday and was listed in good condition at Wolfson Children's Hospital.
"She's sitting up in the bed and laughing and playing with the nurses," said hospital spokesman David Foreman.
The child's father, Ogden Lee, who is seperated from the child's 22-year-old mother, Dakeysha Telita Lee, said he had been trying to contact the mother for two weeks and did not learn until Sunday that she was in jail.
When a manager let him into the apartment Monday, the girl was lying in a baby's bathtub, covered in a towel and was watching cartoons. She was filthy and covered with dry ketchup, he said.
The child opened the refrigerator and got into a pantry, eating anything she could find, including dry spaghetti and macaroni, Sheriff John Rutherford said. "She's quite a scrapper."

Back to the big mess
Back to the slightly smaller mess