Three children rescued from padlocked, squalid home

SEATTLE — Three children, including an infant, have been rescued from a crumbling home north of Seattle where they were left without food and surrounded by animal feces, with their parents arrested on suspicion of mistreating them, authorities said on Wednesday.

The children, an 11-month-old infant, a 3-year-old and a 7-year-old, were found on Saturday by police investigating a report of possible child neglect at a home in Lake Stevens, a small city near Everett. They arrived to find the house padlocked from the outside, police said in a statement.

“It is unknown how long the children were left unattended, but the parents did not show up at the residence and had to be tracked down by investigators,” the police statement said.

The children were taken to an area hospital where one was treated for hypothermia and dehydration with a core body temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit, police said. The conditions of the others were not given.

The children, who police said were surrounded by animal feces and garbage with no heat or food present, have been transferred to the custody of child protective services officials.

The parents, both 33, were arrested in a nearby town on suspicion of felony criminal mistreatment and abandonment, police said.