PADUCAH - A Paducah woman has been arrested after allegedly leaving her three children home alone.

Paducah Police said they received an anonymous tip just after 11:00 am on Thursday, informing them that twin infants were alone at a home in the 800 block of McGuire Avenue.

When officers arrived, they heard crying inside the home, but could not get anyone to come to the door. The door was unlocked, and one officer entered, announcing himself, but still got no reply. He found twin 10-month-old girls alone in a portable crib, wearing only urine-soaked diapers that apparently had not been changed in some time. 

While speaking with neighbors to try to identify the mother of the infants, police learned that there was also a 5-year-old child that was not accounted for. Officers were told that she had left the home in a nightgown, and got on a church bus. They were able to confirm that the bus driver had taken the child to the nearby Salvation Army building, and that she was safe.

The children's mother was eventually located, and identified as 21-year-old Nausicaa Williams. She told officers that she had gone to an appointment with a doctor, and that she had asked two people to check on the children, but that they were alone when she left the home.

Williams was arrested on three counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, and taken to the McCracken County Regional Jail.

The three girls were released to relatives.