ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – An Upstate woman has been arrested after deputies said she and her boyfriend abandoned three children on an island on Lake Hartwell Monday afternoon.
According to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to Lake Hartwell at 3:45 p.m. after three children between the ages of 12 and 15 were located stranded on an island by a passing boater.
The children told deputies that they had been camping on the island the night before with their mother Courtney Danielle Taylor, and her boyfriend, Eric Michael Elrod.
Deputies said Taylor and Elrod left early in the morning but Taylor told the children that she was going to get water and never returned.
The vehicle they were traveling in was gone from where it was left parked, deputies said.
After further investigation, deputies learned that Elrod is wanted by Pickens County Sheriff’s Office for arrest warrants for the distribution of methamphetamine and other charges.
Courtney Taylor has been arrested and is currently being held in the Anderson County Detention Center on charges of unlawful neglect of a child.
On Tuesday, deputies learned that Taylor has been in contact with her ex-husband and her children and was seen by acquaintances in the area.
Deputies are still searching for Eric Elrod. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact Anderson County Sheriff’s Office at 864-260-4400 or CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC (274-6372
