Discovery of bedbugs, little food prompts protective custody for three children

Three children were placed in protective custody by police after they were found alone at home early Wednesday morning with little food and an infestation of bedbugs.

Officers responding to a request at about 3 a.m. to check on the welfare of the children in the house discovered their mother had left them to go partying and had been gone for several hours, according to a police document on the incident. The house is near Ninth and Grove.

“The residence was infested with bedbugs,” Lt. Joe Schroeder said.

The children taken into protective custody were an 8-year-old boy and girls ages 10 and 5. Their 28-year-old mother eventually returned home, Schroeder said.

No arrests have been made in the case, which remains under investigation.

This story was originally published July 31, 2015 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Discovery of bedbugs, little food prompts protective custody for three children."