Though former YouTube mommy vlogger Ruby Franke long served as the camera-toting matriarch of the now-defunct 8 Passengers channel, her controversial approach to parenting has landed her in a whole lot of legal trouble.


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Franke and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt, were both arrested on two charges each of aggravated child abuse on Wednesday, hours after Franke’s 12-year-old son reportedly “climbed out of the window” at Hildebrandt’s home in Ivins, Utah and “ran to a neighbor's home” to ask for food and water, according to an affidavit.



After the pre-teen, who appeared "emaciated and malnourished, with open wounds and duct tape around the extremities” arrived at their front door, the neighbor decided to reach out to the authorities. Upon their arrival, they determined the boy was in such “severe” shape, that he needed to be “seen by Santa Clara-Ivins EMS and transported to a local area hospital," the police document continued.


They then headed back to Hildebrandt’s home, where they discovered another child, a 10-year-old girl, in a similar state. She was later determined to be malnourished, just like her sibling.


Four children ultimately were taken into the care of the Department of Child and Family Services.


As Franke and Hildebrandt, who often shared controversial parenting advice videos on their shared ConneXions YouTube channel, remain in police custody following their arrest the mommy vlogger’s eldest child, Shari, headed to social media to commend authorities for “finally” addressing their mother’s behavior.



“Today has been a big day,” the 20-year-old began a post shared to her Instagram story, “Me and my family are so glad justice is being served. We’ve been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up.”



So take it from this brutal end of the 8 Passengers saga — not everything is as it seems on screen.