WATERVILLE — A 33-year-old Waterville woman was summonsed after police allegedly found her three children alone in their house Thursday.

Samantha Renee Clark of Western Court charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor, when she returned home and allegedly acknowledged that she had left her children alone all night, Police Chief Joseph Massey said.

Police responded to a caller who said there were children alone in the apartment around 7:15 a.m., Massey said. When they arrived, the children, ages 4 to 13, told them they had been alone through the night and “did not know where their mother was.”

Massey said it didn’t appear that the children were in danger. He didn’t know if they seemed upset or if this appeared to be a regular occurrence, he said.

About 45 minutes after the officers arrived, Clark showed up, he said.

Clark said she was helping a friend, according to Massey, and allegedly admitted she had been gone the whole time.

Clark, who was on probation after being convicted of drunken driving, had been due to serve five days in jail for the conviction starting Thursday, Massey said.

Officers tested Clark and found that she had drunk alcohol recently, which was a violation of her probation. The new criminal conduct was also a violation of her probation.

Clark is scheduled to appear Aug. 8 in Waterville District Court on the charge of endangering the welfare of a child. She is currently serving her sentence at the Kennebec County jail.

Madeline St. Amour can be contacted at 861-9239 or at:

mstamour@centralmaine.com

Twitter: madelinestamour