Three people have been arrested in Washington State after police found five children and three dogs living in a car teeming with trash and drug paraphernalia.
The children — who are 13, 11, 10, 8 and 5 years old — showed “clear signs of neglect” and had very little food available in the cramped car, which police in Vancouver, just north of the Oregon border, found in the city’s downtown area, police said Monday.
Officers said they found meth on one of the suspects during their investigation, and another suspect admitted that there was fentanyl inside the car.
Animal Control helped remove the three dogs from the ghastly living conditions. Two of the pets were “extremely underweight,” while the third had an “untreated open tumor” and had to be put down, police said.
Photos shared by police revealed the horrifying conditions inside the cramped car. One image showed several large garbage bags strapped to the top of the vehicle, while others illustrated how dirty and dangerous the living space was.
Several images also show the drugs police found inside the vehicle.
The three adults involved, Natalie Gebron, Zachariah Edwards and Corleone Lewis, were arrested by Vancouver police on a slew of charges.
Gebron and Edwards were booked into the Clark County Jail after being charged with five counts of endangerment with a controlled substance, one count of possession of a controlled substance and three counts of second-degree animal cruelty.
Lewis was booked into jail on nine charges, including: one count of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to manufacture or deliver, two counts of unlawful camping, two counts of unlawful storage of personal property in public places, one count of possession of a controlled substance and two domestic violence-related charges.
It was not immediately clear if the three adults were related to the children or what their relationships were.
“Due to the conditions inside the vehicle, and the presence of drugs and dangerous conditions, all three adults were arrested,” police said.
The children were placed in the custody of Child Protective Services and immediately taken to a hospital for evaluation.
Police also seized the vehicle as part of their investigation.
