The children found in a Milwaukee storage unit and adults arrested in connection to the police’s discovery were homeless, authorities said.
The Milwaukee Police Department confirmed to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Sept. 18 that the eight people, including six children ranging in age from 2 months old to 9 years old, the 26-year-old woman and 33-year-old man all were homeless.
Two days ago, police found the the six children inside a storage unit at about 1:36 p.m. at StorSafe self-storage facility, 5555 N. 27th St. The location of the two adults has not been made public.
Police have described the situation as a child abuse/neglect incident and intend to refer criminal charges to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office soon, a department spokesperson said.
The children were taken to Wisconsin Child Protective Services, a police spokesperson said. However, the spokesperson was unable to confirm if they remained in the agency’s custody. CPS declined to comment on whether the children were still in their custody, citing state confidentiality law.
The investigation into the incident is active and ongoing, police previously said. The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office will review charges in the incident, and police intend to refer them “soon,” the police spokesperson said.
How the children came to be in the storage unit, and the circumstances that led to the adults’ arrests, are not yet publicly known. But the case has highlighted the urgency of the issue of family homelessness in Milwaukee, one advocate said.
Donna Rongholt-Migan did not know the circumstances of the children found in the storage unit and did not want to speak about their situation directly.
“It’s really important to reserve judgment,” said Rongholt-Migan, executive director of the Cathedral Center that services women and families with children. “Each family faces really different and unique circumstances, and they make their own decisions based on what they think is best, and what they know how to do.”
She said they are a “microcosm of a really big issue.”
“It’s time that our community realizes that there’s this critical, critical need and we have to address it,” Rongholt-Migan said.
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@gannett.com.
Sophie Carson is a general assignment reporter who reports on religion and faith, immigrants and refugees and more. Contact her at scarson@gannett.com or 920-323-5758.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Children found in Milwaukee storage unit were homeless, MPD confirms
Reporting by David Clarey and Sophie Carson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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