Tampa Police were called Sunday morning by the mother of a 8-year-old boy who reported him missing. Police said the boy, Torry Brown, was last seen at 6 p. m. Saturday playing, and on Sunday, his mother told police he did not come home from playing outside.

Brown was found Sunday morning at a neighbor’s apartment where he spent the night. The neighbor told police she thought Brown’s mother knew he was spending the night, because he brought a change of clothes for church.

Police said when they responded to the North Boulevard Homes Public Housing complex after receiving a call from the child’s mother, Tylarnda Anderson, they found her apartment to be in bad shape, with roaches and soiled diapers on the floor, and three children who had no beds or adequate clothing.

The children, between 2 and 8, were routinely left unsupervised and allowed to stay out until midnight, police said.

Police brought Brown back to the apartment, and Anderson was arrested and charged with four counts of child neglect. She was released Sunday afternoon from jail on a bond of $8,000.

A neighbor reported receiving calls from the Department of Children and Families making inquiries about Anderson.

“This started almost as soon as she moved in a couple of years ago.  She would never cooperate with them. Her children would come downstairs and cause problems for the other residents, and if you tried to talk to her about it, she would get angry.”

The neighbor said Anderson would sometimes retaliate by tossing dirty diapers from the second floor onto the backyard, or tossing a pan full of cooking grease on the wall.

“She would get into arguments with her neighbors, and even the housing supervisor was called on occasion to come out and deal with her? “I’ve seen workers with DCF at her house before. I remember one night I heard a child crying, and when I looked at the clock, it was 2:30 a. m. I peeked out of my door, and saw one of her children sitting outside the door crying. I tried to go to bed, but I just couldn’t with that little child sitting out there alone crying. I called the police, and they came and went inside to talk to her. This wasn’t the first time they’ve come out here to talk to her.”

The Florida Department of Children and Families took custody of all four children.