Six young children, including a two-month-old baby, have been rescued from a storage unit where they were confined. Authorities in Milwaukee have arrested a 26-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man on charges of neglect and abuse after the children were discovered in a StorSafe facility in the northern part of the city.
Upon entering the unit, law enforcement found six children, aged two, three, five, seven, and nine, in addition to the infant. Fortunately, the children did not suffer any physical harm while being locked up. Initially, officials believed there were only two children in the storage container based on dispatch audio obtained by ABC News.
Due to the container being locked, police called in fire crews to help gain access. Thankfully, no injuries occurred during the operation. Witnesses in the area provided conflicting accounts of seeing the family with children at the storage unit, with one person denying any knowledge of children frequenting the location.
Local residents expressed shock and dismay at the situation, with one person stating that the discovery deeply affected them and highlighted a failure to support and protect the children. Concerned community members emphasized the need to provide proper care for children and not subject them to inhumane treatment.
An individual who preferred to remain anonymous due to safety concerns mentioned observing the children riding bikes in the vicinity a week before the incident. The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office is currently reviewing the charges related to the case.