“Missing” Delco Mom May Have Knowingly Left Kids

No word yet on where the mother of 2 was for the last 5 days

UPDATE: Brown was located around 4 p.m. Wednesday, Lansdowne Police told NBC10.


A Delaware County mom whose children reported her missing one day ago is believed to have knowingly left her kids alone, police tell NBC10.

Police in East Lansdowne say that 40-year-old Melissa Melba Brown's children, 9 and 11, reported her missing Tuesday, although they'd been living by themselves since Friday.

At first, police feared the worst and were just hoping that Brown was found safe, but on Wednesday, they received new information leading them to believe the mother of two knowingly left her children and is still in the area.

"...We're still trying to verify that information," East Lansdowne Police Chief John Zimath told NBC10's Jesse Gary. "We don't have any details as to why she has not been home. We're not sure if this has occurred before and that's what we'd like to find out."

Investigators say the kids are now with Delco Children and Youth Services and that they are in good health.

Five days after she allegedly left her kids, Brown turned up Wednesday afternoon. She appeared to be OK, police said. 

Lansdowne Police didn't immediately say where she was all this time.

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