Christine SlusserMore than 100 people, thought to be undocumented immigrants, were found in what's believed to be a stash house in Houston. KHOU called the conditions "deplorable."
"Houston police officers are calling this one of the largest stash houses they have ever seen."
"There's no hot water in the house, there is a toilet that partially works, one bathroom."
"These kids are not gonna forget this."
According to reports, a concerned person called authorities after a human smuggler failed to show at their designated meeting place with a 24-year-old family member and her two children.
"Police were there searching for a missing child. ... This may be part of a human smuggling operation." (Via WCPO)
Of the more than 100 people pulled from the house, one of the women was pregnant. There were also several children and hundreds of chickens. A KPRC reporter said the stench was "unbearable."
"Police say the captives were treated worse than animals."
"Bodies upon bodies, people sitting on top of one another, squalid conditions, dirty, filthy conditions, clothes strewn everywhere."
CNN reports the alleged immigrants were from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico and ranged in age anywhere from 5 to 47 years old.
"Most of those rescued said they had been at the house for two to four days, but one woman said she had been there 15 days."
The doors and windows had been sealed shut, and the people inside were reportedly held against their will, and had their shoes taken so they couldn't run.
A total of five suspects were taken into custody. The people found in the home were detained and taken to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility where they will undergo medical treatment and be fingerprinted.
