A Georgia mother is behind bars in connection with the death of her 3-year-old daughter and neglect of her 7-year-old son. Uriha Ridge, 35, reportedly took her two young children into the woods near Foxhall Resort in Douglasville early on January 16. When police discovered the family several hours later, it was clear that the children were in danger.
According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, the children were soaking wet and had been exposed to freezing temperatures for hours while in the woods with their mother. Emergency personnel took the family to nearby hospitals for treatment, where the young girl died. Now, the mother faces a lengthy prison sentence if she's convicted of the charges, which include murder.
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The mother reportedly took her children into the woods late at night.
Per the sheriff’s office, Ridge and her two children, Eli and Alina, entered the wooded area around midnight and did not contact police for help for nearly 12 hours, police explained in a media release. The mother allegedly “did not call for help until the next morning at 11:51 a.m., despite having a cell phone with a properly charged battery.”
Investigators made a frightening discovery.
The sheriff’s office reported the mother was using “illicit drugs” in the hours leading up to her family’s disappearance and during the time they were in the woods.
“The consumption of illegal drugs is believed to be the root cause of why Uriha Ridge took her two small children into the woods, minimally clothed, in below-freezing temperatures, and in the rain for more than eleven hours, which led to the death of the three-year-old child and hospitalization of the seven-year-old child,” the sheriff’s office claimed.
Ridge allegedly used multiple drugs.
The mother allegedly consumed both marijuana and cocaine the night she ventured into the woods with her children, Fox 5 reported. According to the news station, when Ridge contacted police, she said she and her children were lost, despite having a phone with her.
Alina died after arriving at an area hospital. Eli’s condition is unknown.
The mother was arrested and taken to jail.
According to jail records, Ridge is in Douglas County Jail and held without bond. She faces several charges, including two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, two counts of cruelty to children in the second degree, and felony murder.
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This mother allegedly has a history of violence.
Ridge was arrested on charges of child abuse in 2022, after allegedly beating her then 2-year-old daughter, according to Fox 5. The mother also reportedly dropped the toddler while she was “heavily intoxicated.” After her arrest in that case, a judge granted her bond, and she was allowed to maintain custody of her children, the news outlet reported.
