Lake Sakakawea in North Dakota. Photo from North Dakota Tourism Department

A member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota has been charged with child abuse.

Federal prosecutors say Michelle Wounded Face, 24, left her two daughters, aged 2 and 4, alone in car on a freezing-cold day. The incident occurred earlier this month on the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation of North Dakota.

“The vehicle motor was not running. C.W.F. and M.W.F. verbalized they were very cold and they appeared to be scared,” an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit filed in federal court. “They were shivering. C.W.F. was dressed in a tank top-style shirt and M.W.F. had no shirt. Neither girl was wearing socks or shoes.”

Before leaving them alone in the car near Lake Sakakawea, Wounded Face told one of her daughters that "she didn't want her damn babies anymore," the affidavit stated.

Wounded Face appeared in court on Monday, the Associated Press reported. A judge expects to order a mental competency evaluation, the AP said.

Get the Story:
Woman Charged with Child Abuse for Leaving Two Children in Unattended Car in the Cold (KXMC 1/12)
Mom accused of leaving kids to die in cold car (AP 1/13)
Fort Berthold mother charged with leaving 2 children without shoes or socks in car that wasn't running, says she left them to die (Forum News Service 1/13)