YouTube parenting advice mum arrested on child abuse suspicion

A Utah woman, who ran a once popular parenting advice YouTube channel, was arrested on suspicion of child abuse after her malnourished son escaped from home, officials said.

Ruby Franke and her business partner Jodi Nan Hildebrandt were arrested in Ivins, Utah on Wednesday.

Officials also found Ms Franke's 10-year-old daughter in a malnourished condition at her partner's house.

Ms Franke and her business partner face two felony counts of child abuse.

The BBC has reached out to Ms Franke and Ms Hildebrandt for comment.

Police say Ms Franke's 12-year-old son climbed out of the window and ran to a neighbour's house to ask for food and water.

"The calling party [the neighbour] stated the juvenile appeared to be emaciated and malnourished, with open wounds and duct tape around the extremities," according to a statement from the Santa-Clara Ivins Public Safety Department.

"Upon arrival, law enforcement observed the wounds and the malnourishment of [the boy] to be severe," the statement said.

The boy had to be taken to the hospital "due to his deep lacerations from being tied up with rope and from his malnourishment", according to officials.

Officials later obtained a search warrant in connection with the incident, and in total, four children were taken into the care of family and child services, the police affidavit said.

Ms Franke, 41, became YouTube famous in the 2010s for her channel called 8 passengers that discussed parenting of her six children. Ms Franke has appeared in YouTube videos with Ms Hildebrandt posted by her counselling site ConneXions Classroom.

The YouTube channel had over 2 million subscribers before it was deactivated earlier this year.

The vlogger has faced a backlash in the past for her strict parenting measures described on her YouTube channel, including her son claiming he slept on a bean bag for several months as punishment and Ms Franke describing withholding meals as another disciplinary measure.

The bean bag incident led some viewers to call local child protective services, though Ms Franke claimed to Insider the incidents had been taken out of context.

Ms Franke's eldest daughter Shari Franke shared a post on Instagram after her mother's arrest, saying that she and her family "are so glad justice is being served", US media reported.

"We've been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up," she reportedly said.

Ms Franke has requested an attorney and did not speak to officers, according to the Associated Press. That attorney had not publicly been identified on Thursday.