In the summer of , police detective Mark Holste followed an investigator from the Department of Children and Families to a home in Plant City, Florida. They were there to look into a statement from the neighbour concerning a shabby house on Old Sydney Road. A small girl was reported peering from one of its broken windows.
This seemed odd because no one in the neighbourhood had seen a young child in or around the home, which had been inhabited for the past three years by a woman, her boyfriend, and two adult sons. Entering the house, Detective Holste and his team were shocked. Detective Holste headed down a hallway and entered a small room. She was curled on her side.
Insect bites, rashes and sores pocked her skin. She was nakedβexcept for a swollen diaper. Detective Holste immediately carried Danielle out of the home. She was taken to a hospital for medical treatment and evaluation.
Through extensive testing, doctors determined that, although she was severely malnourished, Danielle was able to see, hear, and vocalize normally. What had happened to Danielle? Put simply: beyond the basic requirements for survival, she had been neglected.
Based on their investigation, social workers concluded that she had been left almost entirely alone in rooms like the one where she was found. Without regular interactionβthe holding, hugging, talking, the explanations and demonstrations given to most young childrenβshe had not learned to walk or to speak, to eat or to interact, to play or even to understand the world around her.
