Investigators said questions about a promised childcare arrangement led first responders to enter a North Miami Beach apartment Saturday night.
NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — A father’s concern about a social media post and the whereabouts of his infant daughter led police to four children they said were alone inside an apartment while their mother was on a Bahamas cruise.
The Saturday night discovery set off an investigation that ended Monday with the arrest of 29-year-old Nathalie Belizaire after her cruise ship returned to PortMiami. Belizaire faces four counts of child neglect without great bodily harm. Police allege the children, including a 2-month-old infant and a 2-year-old, were left at the North Miami Beach residence without an adult while she traveled aboard Carnival Conquest. The charges remain allegations.
According to an arrest report, the father of the 2-month-old had seen a post on Belizaire’s WhatsApp story Thursday that appeared to show a cruise ticket purchase. He spoke with Belizaire that day about the children, and she told him she intended to leave them with their great-grandmother, police said.
The father went to the apartment Saturday night. From outside, he could see a television on through the blinds and hear the children talking inside, according to the arrest report. His observations raised concerns about whether an adult was there, and he called 911.
North Miami Beach police and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded. First responders forced entry into the residence and found all four children without adult supervision, authorities said. Police reported that the children were together in a bathroom when responders entered. Authorities have not publicly released the ages of two of the children in the initial accounts reviewed for this report.
Investigators sought to determine what arrangements had been made before Belizaire left town. The children’s great-grandmother told authorities that Belizaire had said she would bring the children to her because she planned to go out of town, according to police. The great-grandmother said Belizaire never brought them over.
Police also spoke with Belizaire’s brother. He told investigators that his sister sent him a message at about 8 p.m. Saturday instructing him to check on her children, according to the arrest report. Police said they made repeated attempts to contact Belizaire during the investigation but did not reach her.
Investigators determined that Belizaire had purchased a three-day ticket aboard Carnival Conquest for a Bahamas trip beginning Sept. 25, according to police. The arrest report alleges she left all four children at the residence without adult supervision while she traveled out of town on the ship.
The investigation then shifted from the apartment to Belizaire’s expected return to Miami. Authorities were waiting Monday when Carnival Conquest arrived at PortMiami. U.S. Customs and Border Protection took Belizaire into custody after she disembarked, and she was subsequently transferred to North Miami Beach police.
Police said Belizaire declined to provide a statement after her arrest and invoked her right to remain silent. Investigators said the evidence gathered during the inquiry gave them probable cause to pursue four child neglect counts, corresponding to the four children allegedly left without supervision.
Belizaire was expected to appear in bond court Tuesday, according to initial reporting. The reviewed source material did not establish the outcome of that proceeding. The case remains pending, and the allegations against Belizaire have not been adjudicated.
Author note: Last updated September 29, 2026.