A Carroll County woman is accused of leaving four children alone while she went to a pawn shop, according to police. And a week later, she’s still gone.

That’s because Tiffany Murphy, 24, of Douglasville, is worried she could go to jail, according to Villa Rica Police Capt. Keith Shaddix said.

A neighbor called police Jan. 29 after seeing the children, ranging in age from 2 to 8 years old, playing outside, Shaddix said. The children told police Murphy had gone to a pawn shop and that they were hungry, police said.

Murphy is the mother of the two youngest children, but was babysitting the older two while their mother was in jail, according to police.

Police then told Murphy to pick up the children or they would be replaced in DFACS custody, Shaddix said. But Murphy refused to come get the children and remained on the loose Tuesday night.

“The mother asked if she was going to jail, if she was going to be arrested,” Shaddix told Channel 2 Action News. “The detective said we don’t know at this time but we are still investigating you need to come up here and her response was I’m not coming up there if I’m going to be arrested.”

An arrest warrant has been issued for Murphy on charges of reckless conduct and cruelty to children. The children were placed in DFACS custody.

Murphy told Channel 2 she has been falsely accused and that she left the children with an adult. “I didn’t go to the police station because I wanted to first get legal representation,” she said.

Anyone with information on Murphy’s whereabouts is asked to contact police.