"They're OK, but I pity these kids," Militante said.
The four children were left home alone at their Ewa Beach home Sunday night while their mother allegedly went to a card game, neighbors said.
Police went to the Kauiki Street home about 8:30 a.m. yesterday and found three boys, ages 6 months, 1 1/2 and 5 years old, in the care of their 9-year-old sister.
The girl apparently called her grandmother Monday night, saying the children had been on their own since their mother left about 10 p.m. Sunday, said Waianae Sgt. Edgar Namoca.
The children were in "generally good condition," and are in the custody of Child Protective Services, Namoca said.
Police have not been able to locate the mother, 27. She faces arrest for endangering the welfare of a minor. The children's father does not live with them, neighbors said.
Yesterday afternoon, the mother contacted landlord Alonzo Carlos saying she was on the way to retrieve her children. "I told her it's too late," Carlos said.
When he asked why she had left the children home alone without notifying anyone, she told him something had happened, but wouldn't explain. "I told her, `What kind of heart you get?' " Carlos said.
Carlos had allowed the woman to rent the two-bedroom extension behind his home as a favor to her boyfriend. He said he would ask her to find another place to stay when she returns.
Officers told Carlos they found "batu" or crystal methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in the home, violating the rental agreement, he said. Her rent was due Monday.
The children's mother does not work and usually stayed home with them, Carlos said. He had heard the two youngest crying Monday night, but thought nothing of it. "Oh, let them go, Manong, not good if I spoil them," the mother had told him in the past. He did wonder why he hadn't seen her car in the garage for the past two nights.
On Monday, the 5-year-old came to his house asking for permission for a friend to visit, saying his mother didn't approve of him playing outside. "Why, no school? Playing hooky again?" Carlos asked. The child said nothing.
The 9-year-old girl later told police her mother had gone out to play cards, Carlos said.
Child neglect, which includes failure to provide responsible, appropriate supervision, occurs more often than is reported, said Johnny Papa, Child Protective Services intake supervisor.
In 1993, about half of the agency's 4,000 cases statewide were for neglected children.
Placing a 9-year-old girl in charge of two or three younger siblings would be inappropriate and unreasonable, said Papa, who declined comment on any cases being handled by Child Protective Services.
Leaving children without supervision overnight is too long, Papa said. She urged the public to call suspected cases to the Child Protective Service hot line at 832-5300, even if unsure about whether a child is being abused or neglected. "That's how many of these kids end up dead - because nobody acted on it," she said.