Lucerne couple arrested for felony child abuse; children taken into protective custody
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Lucerne couple has been arrested for felony child abuse after their two small children were found wandering outdoors, naked and bloody, at a Lakeport motel on Thursday night.
Officers took Elizabeth Ann Frost, 40, and Eric Dwayne Kantner, 46, into custody in the case, according to the Lakeport Police Department.
The agency said that on Thursday evening Lakeport Police officers – assisted by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the Lakeport Fire Protection District – were dispatched to the Anchorage Inn Motel on Main Street to investigate the report of two small children found walking around the grounds naked with blood on their bodies.
The temperature at the time of the incident was approximately 40 degrees, police said.
The police department said officers arrived on the scene and determined that the motel manager located the children after motel guests reported them being outside.
The children, found to be 1 and 3 years of age, were provided immediate care and medical treatment by police and fire. Police said further investigation determined that the children had been outside for up to 10 minutes, both screaming and knocking on doors.
Police said Kantner and Frost, who police confirmed are the children’s parents, were located at the motel and found to have been inside of a room, heavily intoxicated and sleeping at the time the children were outside.
Based on evidence gathered at the scene, officers believe that Kantner assaulted one of the children, causing injury, police said.
Officers determined that the children needed to be taken into protective custody and contacted the Lake County Department of Child Welfare Services, which responded and took custody of them.
The police department said the officers also located two dogs belonging to Kantner and Frost and took custody of them and transported them to Lake County Animal Care and Control.
Both Kantner and Frost were arrested and transported to the Lake County Correctional Facility. Kantner was booked for felony charges of willful cruelty to a child and inflicting injury on a child and Frost was booked for felony charges of willful cruelty to a child and probation violation, police said.
Jail records showed bail for both was set at $75,000. They are set to be arraigned in Lake County Superior Court on Monday.
Local arrest records show that Frost has previous arrests for drug- and alcohol-related charges and probation violations. She also was arrested in 2019 for willful cruelty to a child and this past April for spousal battery.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact Officer Kaylene Strugnell at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 707-263-5491, Extension 119.