DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A Georgia family’s vacation in Florida took a bad turn when police arrested the parents and took their children to protective services.
It all started when Volusia County Sheriff’s Office deputies found them passed out on Daytona Beach on Saturday surrounded by open cans of alcohol, their children nowhere in sight.
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Deputy body-worn footage released by VCSO appeared to show the couple sleeping, surrounded by open cans of alcohol, open beach chairs and toys, Action News Jax sister station WFTV in Orlando reports.
In the video, deputies are seen and heard repeatedly trying to wake the couple up.
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Timothy Stephens and his fiancee Alyssia Langley were arrested, but not before Stephens tried to make a run for it, knocking himself unconscious on the hard-packed sand.
Police later found the kids, ages 5 and 7, swimming in the pool of the hotel they were staying in, Action News Jax sister station WSB-TV in Atlanta reports.
Warning: Graphic language:
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Stephens is not the biological father of the children, WSB-TV reports, but Langley said he shares the responsibility of caring for them with her, therefore making him a legal guardian. The kids referred to him as “dad” and “other daddy.”
Langley’s grandfather told deputies that he would drive down from Georgia to take custody of the children, WSB-TV said.
Both Stephens and Langley posted bond and were released the next day.
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