Cold, hungry and dirty. Police in Florida say they found three children — the oldest of them 10 — wandering in woods near Punta Gorda. But by that point, other deputies had already found the kids' parents.
"Police originally arrested Michael and Sarah Butcher for illegally parking their truck in a private RV park. Good thing because just a short while later, they got a call that these three kids were found wandering the woods. They were ages six, eight and 10." (Via WCPO)
The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office says investigators believe the three children got away from Mom and Dad while the couple was smoking meth, and the family was living out of their truck filled with syringes and old food.
Deputies arrested Michael and Sarah Butcher after residents of that RV park called police saying the couple was acting strange, one man saying the husband appeared high. (Via New York Daily News)
The woods where police found the children are two miles from where deputies arrested their parents. WZVN in nearby Fort Myers reports it's unclear just how the children were abandoned and got so far away, but it was enough to anger residents at the RV park.
KAREN TAYLOR: "To drop your kids off in the woods ... It's, it's awful."
ARTHUR GIASSON: "That's terrible these young children have to put up with a couple of parents that are that neglectful of them." (Via WZVN)
WZVN reports police arrested Michael and Sarah Butcher for loitering and prowling and meth possession, and prosecutors have since charged the couple with child neglect. The children are in protective custody.
