DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — A Douglasville mother is behind bars accused of keeping her children outside overnight on one of the coldest nights of the season.
One of those children, a three-year-old, died.
Alina Aulger remembers the mother and two children she picked up at Fox Hall Resort in Douglasville on Monday, Jan. 15.
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“I asked them did they like staying at Fox Hall and she was like ‘Yeah we are renovating our house, we are staying there temporarily until our house is ready’,” said Aulger.
Aulger drove the trio from the resort to an industrial building where the mother, Uriha Ridge, told Alina she worked.
“It was a little weird because they were all in pajamas,” remembered Aulger.
Douglas County investigators say it was midnight back at Fox Hall Resort when they believe Ridge took her two kids, ages 3 and 7, away from the resort and into the woods.
It wasn’t until 11:51 the next morning, nearly 12 hours later, that a call for help was made, despite Ridge “having a cell phone with a properly charged battery” according to investigators.
The two children were found minimally clothed and wet after being in the rain for hours on a night when the low was 18 degrees.
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“What happens is as hypothermia starts to set in the body tries to lose heat faster than it can create it or maintain it and the body temperature starts to drop,” said Dr. Jayne Morgan with Piedmont Healthcare.
The three-year-old was rushed to the hospital in critical condition but later passed away.
Investigators say they believe the consumption of illegal drugs is the root cause.
“I couldn’t imagine both of those babies being soaking wet in the cold that’s just inhumane and my mom heart that’s just not normal,” said Aulger.
Ridge is facing charges of Cruelty to Children and Felony murder.
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