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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, October 15, 2002

Mom charged after kids found wandering at airport

By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

A 24-year-old mother accused of leaving her three young children alone at the Honolulu International Airport on Sunday has been charged with three counts of child abandonment.

Nikki Cliff-Vazquez, arraigned in court yesterday, was ordered by a family court judge to attend a Nov. 21 hearing to see if she is fit to stand trial. She was released on $600 bail.

Child abandonment is considered a misdemeanor in Hawai'i, punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine.

The Makakilo woman was arrested by police Sunday afternoon at a Pearl City 7-Eleven store after her children, ages 4 to 8, were found that morning wandering around the international terminal with a suitcase, backpack and about $500, according to airport security.

The children told airport security and state sheriffs they had been told by their mother to catch a New York flight to meet their grandmother, state transportation officials said.

The 8-year-old girl, and two boys, 4 and 6 — were placed in the custody of Child Protective Services, according to state Department of Human Services spokeswoman Susan Yamamoto.

Yamamoto said CPS must decide by tomorrow whether the children will remain under foster care, be temporarily placed under relatives' care, or returned to their mother.

"We've gotten word that some family relatives may be traveling down from Europe and the Mainland," said Yamamoto, noting that the charges against Cliff-Vazquez might affect the temporary custody decision.

Cliff-Vazquez allegedly left the children at the airport and drove off after being told she could not park curbside, according to airport security. The children were found by a private airport security guard shortly after 8:30 a.m. who "noticed them just wandering around, appearing to be lost," said Transportation Department spokeswoman Marilyn Kali.

Transportation officials found the mother's purse with the children, but no plane tickets and no flight reservations under their name, Kali said.

Police arrested Cliff-Vazquez at 11:15 a.m. Sunday, and the children were turned over to Child Protective Services at 1 p.m. Their father is enlisted in the Army and stationed in Germany, Kali said.

She said young children are not allowed to fly unsupervised on commercial flights unless the parent signs a formal agreement with the respective airline, for safety and liability reasons.

"The parent also has to show proof that a relative or guardian will be waiting at the airport at the other end to pick up the child," Kali said.

The state public safety deputy director, Herman Moore, believes the children would have been stopped at airport gate security for trying to board a flight without a ticket or reservation.

"They were found wandering outside the gated area," Moore said. "But give the security guard credit for guessing something was wrong and bringing the kids to the sheriff's office."

Moore could not remember the last time a child was reported abandoned at a state airport. "Lost, maybe. But in those cases the parents were looking for them."

Reach Scott Ishikawa at 535-2429 or sishikawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.