Erin Lee Macke: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

erin macke, erin lee macke

police photo Erin Lee Macke.

Erin Lee Macke, an Iowa mother of four, is accused of leaving her children ages 12 and under home alone while she went on a European vacation.

While Macke was in Germany posting photos of bratwurst and sauerkraut on social media, police allege that her kids were left to fend for themselves.

Macke, 30, of Johnston, Iowa, is now under arrest, but she denies the allegations, according to People Magazine.

Here’s what you need to know:


1. Macke’s Children Allegedly Told Police ‘Mom…Left the Country’

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According to KCCI-TV, a Des Moines television station, Macke is accused of leaving children ages 12, 12, 7 and 6 home alone on September 20 “while she traveled to Germany.” Some people on social media (see above and later in this story) were livid at Macke as the story went viral, but she’s innocent unless proven guilty and, according to People Magazine, she has denied the allegations.

Police told the television station that “the children were left alone for 24 hours before the police department and Iowa Department of Human Services received a tip and visited the children” and that the children told authorities, “Mom left them and left the country.”

“I’ve never heard of anything like this before,” Johnston police Lt. Tyler Tompkins told KCCI. “We have situations where parents go next door or parents may go out for the night, and while that’s not advisable either depending on the age of the children, obviously leaving the country is a totally different situation. This, where a parent has left the country and left the kids home alone, I’ve never heard of it before.”


2. Macke Was Allegedly Planning to Vacation in Germany for Days

Macke was allegedly on an extended vacation.

“Upon further investigation, police learned Macke left the country on Sept. 20 and was not scheduled to return until Oct. 1,” USA Today reported that authorities allege. “She made no arrangements to provide supervision of the children while she was away, according to police.”

The newspaper reported that authorities tracked Macke down in Germany and demanded she return home after allegedly discovering the children fending for themselves. According to UK Daily Mail, the children included 12-year-old twins (a boy and girl), and two other girls.

Macke’s ex-husband, Matthew Macke, told Inside Edition, “I am really angry, but I wish I could say I am surprised, but I am not.” He added, according to the entertainment show, “If she wants to take a vacation, more power to her. But she has a responsibility as a parent.”


3. Macke Is Accused of Telling Police That All Her Babysitters Had Fallen Through

What excuse did Macke allegedly give for leaving the children on their own? According to Daily Mail, she told police “that all of her babysitters fell through so she decided to leave the kids home alone,” they allege.

USA Today reported that Macke was “charged with four counts of child endangerment and one count of making a firearm available to a person under the age of 21.” Daily Mail reports that the gun charge came because Macke allegedly “left an unloaded Glock 9MM handgun on top of her dresser, next to two magazines – one fully loaded and one partially loaded.”

People Magazine reported that Macke disputes the allegations, saying, “She has reportedly said the allegations against her are untrue and that she did not leave her kids alone.”


4. Macke Chronicled Her Trip to Germany on Social Media

Macke wasn’t hiding the vacation. According to Daily Mail, she flaunted it on Instagram.

“Macke posted several photos to Instagram from her trip to Germany, including (a) photo of herself smiling and throwing her hands up in front of the Danube River in Bavaria,” the British news site reported.

The site added, “Photos posted on Macke’s Instagram last week show her touring Bavaria with a girl friend and a baby.” Daily Mail also reported that Macke’s social media included photos of a hops farm and a German meal of bratwurst with sauerkraut. Macke is divorced, the site reported.

Macke’s Instagram page is no longer available. The cache of it says in part, “Erin Macke (@erinmacke1) on Instagram: ‘Day 1 in Germany.’”

Lt. Lynn Aswegan of the Johnston Police Department told People Magazine that “officers were first called to Macke’s home on Sept. 21 after receiving a report from the father of two of Macke’s children that she had left the day before for a 12-day vacation in Germany.”

Aswegan called the trip a “social venture” and said that Macke was visiting relatives in Germany, adding, “She felt comfortable that the kids were responsible enough to take care of themselves during that duration,” People Magazine reported.

Aswegan told People the children were only alone for about 24 hours before police arrived to discover one of the twins putting food on the table for the other children.


5. Macke Posed in a Bikini Competition in May

According to Daily Mail, other photos on Instagram show Erin Macke in a bikini competition in May. You can see those photos here. One photo showed her with one of her daughters at the competition.

Her Facebook and LinkedIn pages have also been deleted, but online records from the LinkedIn page allege that Macke has worked in sales for a talent agency and wireless company and as a veterinary assistant. The records say that she attended college for marketing and equine science and has worked as a farrier putting horseshoes on animals.