"Police search for mother, sister of wandering girl"

A mother and her two young daughters have been hiding in a pit dug in the sand beneath a beach playgroup for at least two weeks. They often went without food, police reported Friday.
"They could hear the kids playing and laughing while they were underneath them," said a Fort Lauderdale police spokeswoman. The woman being sought by police, Tammy Kongkham,35, dug a hole in the sand under the playground where the three were able to hide without being seen. They were unable to stand or sit up, being that their home was only a few feet high. The mom would only leave when she would go to get food, but they would go days without eating. A police officer found one of the daughters begging for food at the Galleria Mall in Ft.Lauderdale on December 4. The girl told investigators she was 18 and waiting for her family to arrive from New Jersey. After she was investigated further, she told them about her missing mom and sister and led them to the playground that she called home.
The mother has been on the run since she took her girls from a Philadelphia foster home. Officials are not sure why she brought them here to South Florida, but it is said she was unfit to take care of her children.
The mother, Tammy Kongkham, faces unlawful flight to face prosecution with the FBI, kidnapping charges in Philadelphia, and a child abuse charge in Fort Lauderdale, authorities said.
Video: Police search for mother, sister of girl found