Pennsylvania mother faces charges after child tries to ‘hang on power lines’ from roof while she was out on a task; here’s what happened

A woman from Pennsylvania was arrested and charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of children after police revealed that she left her children alone at home while she ran errands. The child endangerment charges against the woman, identified as 38-year-old Amanda Rivera from Indiana County, come after her son was allegedly found on the roof of her home after “trying to hang on the power lines."

Rivera is the mother of two sons, one aged 8 and the other 15. The chilling case came to light after officers responded to Rivera's home on March 15, 2026 (Sunday), after neighbors called 911 to report a child was on the roof. Police said that neither child was hurt during the incident, and Child & Youth Services was notified.

Rivera, who lives in Indiana County’s Blairsville in Pennsylvania, was arrested on Sunday (March 15) and charged the next day, according to the court docket obtained by PEOPLE. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for April 15 before Magisterial District Judge Robert Steele Bell Sr. in an Indiana County court.


"The [neighbor] advised she took a video of a 7- or 8-year-old boy on the roof. [The witness] stated that the boy was trying to hang on the power lines attached to the house," CBS Pittsburgh reported, citing police paperwork.

Neighbors called 911

The video, shared by neighbors with KDKA-TV, a television station in Pittsburgh owned by CBS, captured the moments after the child crawled out the window and walked across the roof. They said they immediately called 911. "That's scary," Blanche Miller, who lives in Indiana County, was quoted as saying by CBS.

Police said there's approximately a 20-foot drop from the roof to the ground, and on the day it happened, there were "extremely high winds," putting the child at an even greater risk.

What did Rivera tell the police?

Rivera allegedly told police officers that she is in the process of moving out and had been in and out of the home all day and at their new house, CBS Pittsburgh reported. Police in its paperwork also revealed that the two children were not letting them inside when they arrived but spoke to officers through the door and told them the windows and doors were locked from the inside.

"The [15-year-old] stated that the WiFi was off in the house and he couldn't make calls on his phone and didn't have any way to contact someone," police stated in paperwork, as quoted by CBS. Police claimed that neither child had a key to open any doors.

According to police paperwork, the accused mother told police that her 8-year-old son is autistic and her older son often babysits.