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CRAWFORD COUNTY, MO -- Six adults face charges after allegedly locking three small children in a cold backyard shed while they partied nearby at their Crawford County, Missouri home.
According to the Crawford County sheriff, six people were partying in one of the sheds on the property, while three young kids were locked inside another shed. The children were all under the age of 4, with the youngest being a 1 year old.
Deputies were called to the address for a domestic disturbance, but when they arrived, they heard small children yelling from a nearby shed. The temperature inside the shed was 45 degrees.
"Screaming, hollering, you could tell they were partying," said neighbor Steve Wade. "You could tell words were slurred."
Wade said the commotion came from the property about 100 yards or so from his home. On Tuesday night, when he heard the noise, he had no reason to believe there was trouble.
It's rather disgusting that I can live that close and not know what's going on back there.
–Steve Wade
"It's rather disgusting that I can live that close and not know what's going on back there," Wade said.
The shed, according to the sheriff, looked like a make- shift room with two beds inside.
"Me personally," Wade said, "I guess if I couldn't take care of my kids any better than that, I'd at least take them to family services and tell them, you know, I don't have the money to keep them warm, put them in foster care or something. It's just ridiculous anybody'd do that."
The six adults each face three child endangerment charges. One was also charged for having marijuana and another was charged with resisting arrest and assaulting or trying to assault an officer. The children are now staying with relatives.
