MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – Police have identified the man accused of beating two minor children which were left alone in a hotel room by their vacationing mom over the summer.
Guests in the Sea Gypsy Wayfarer on North Ocean Boulevard heard a lot of loud banging coming from the adjacent room, and opened their door to find two small children admitting they were locked out around 3 a.m. on the morning on Saturday, August 4.
The older of the two children was only four years old, and explained that they were not accompanied by a parent and they were hungry, according to the incident report WMBF News obtained from Myrtle Beach Police.
One of the children told the hotel guests that if "Josh" came back, he would beat them.
The situation was reported to hotel employees who opened the room and called police. Inside the room, one of the guests searched for a shirt to put on the oldest child.
Finding a shirt smelling of urine, the concerned patron placed it in the clothes basket, prompting the child to shout, "Don't put that there, Josh will whoop me again with his shoe."
Police noted that both children appeared very anxious and tired, and mentioned that "Mom" and "Josh" hurt them. None of the guests in the adjacent rooms could remember seeing an adult coming in or out.
After further questioning, the kids told police that they didn't know where their parents were, but believed that their mom was at work, assuring that "Josh" was not their dad.
The children could not remember the last night they had something to eat, and said one of them had been hit with a chair.
The hotel room, the report states, was in disarray with clothes strewn across the floor, a grinder on the nightstand and a broken telephone. The bathroom, where officers found a small dog with no food or water, was covered in urine and feces.
The dog was taken to the animal shelter and the children were entered into emergency protective custody.
When the children's mother arrived back at the hotel, she was taken into custody and charged with two counts of unlawful neglect of a child.
The mother, 26-year-old Amber Lynn Fulk from Greensboro, NC, advised that she did leave her children in the care of a 21-year-old man from Winston Salem while she went to work. She continued that the man came with her to the beach from North Carolina on vacation so he could watch the kids, but he was known to smoke drugs.
Fulk adds that the male has hit her in the past in front of her children and he scares them.
The mother was later released from custody and Horry County public records show charges against her are still pending.
On October 11, Myrtle Beach Police entered 21-year-old Joshua Wesley Chappell into the National Crime Information Center, wanted on two counts of unlawful neglect of a child.
He is a white male standing 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds. He has black hair and blue eyes.
If you have seen him or know where he might be, contact Myrtle Beach Police at 843-918-1382.
Copyright 2012 WMBF News. All rights reserved.
Amber Lynn Fulk (Source: MBPD)
If you have seen Joshua Chappell, call police. (Source: Myrtle Beach Police)
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