A Tennessee toddler is recovering after she survived multiple days trapped in her crib after her grandmother collapsed and died in her home.
The girl, identified in news reports as Brier Rose Ineichen, was found on Saturday in the home of her grandmother, Annette Ineichen, Greg Cook of the Maryville Police Department told BuzzFeed News.
The 15-month-old's mother, Tracy Ineichen, has been in jail since early September, police told WATE.
Annette Ineichen had been caring for her granddaughter while her daughter was in jail.
Tracy last heard from her mother and daughter on Nov. 7. She became worried last weekend when she realized she hadn't spoken to them since then, and couldn't reach her mother.
Tracy called her boyfriend, Anthony Waldo, and asked him to check on her mother and daughter, WATE reported.
When Waldo arrived, he broke into the house and found Brier Rose in her crib with chapped lips and smelling of urine, he told WATE.
Waldo said the baby was so dehydrated, she didn't even have tears to cry.
"She was scared, she was not very alert," he told WATE.
He called police, who forced their way into the bathroom and found the child's grandmother dead on the floor. There were also seven dogs in the home.
Cook said that police aren't yet sure exactly how long Brier Rose was alone, as the time of death for her grandmother hasn't been determined.
He said Annette could have died any time between Nov. 7 and Nov. 14. The child's mother wrote on GoFundMe that they think Brier Rose was left alone for at least three days.
The child has since been released from the hospital.