ELYRIA, Ohio -- An Elyria woman has been charged with endangering her four young children, who police say were left home alone in dangerous living conditions.

Melody Reed said she only made a quick trip to the store, but police said the mother was gone for 11 hours.

Reed was arrested on Tuesday and was charged with four counts of child endangering, one for each child, ranging in age from 7 months to 7 years.

Police said the apartment appeared to be bug infested and there are also reports that the children were surrounded by their own feces.

Police went to the apartment after receiving a call from a neighbor who said a child there had been crying for hours.

Reed declined NewsChannel5's request for an interview, but did say she wasn't gone for 11 hours and that she doesn't leave the children alone regularly.

She said the situation is the result of a neighborhood dispute and that contrary to police reports, the children are still in her custody.

An Elyria police officer told NewsChannel5 that contrary to popular belief, in the state of Ohio there is no law that states specifically how old a child must be before they are left home alone.

Most people think it's 12 but the officer said it's a judgment call based on that child's responsibility.