Indiana Police Find 5 Kids, 18 Cats In Back Of Moving Van [Video]

Indianapolis , IN – Indiana State Police arrested two parents after troopers found their five children and 18 cats riding in the back of a moving truck.

According to WTVR News, police charged David Detzen, 41, and Rebecca Detzen, 40, of Fairmount City, Pennsylvania with four felony counts of neglect of a dependent after allegedly finding their 18-year-old daughter and four other children, ages 9-17, in the cargo area of the rental truck Wednesday night.

“They were wearing coats and they had sleeping bags but they had no way to communicate with their parents in the front of the truck,” Sgt. John Bowling with the Indiana State Police said, noting that the temperature when the children were discovered in the unheated storage area was around 32 degrees.

Also in the back of the truck along with boxes of family belongings were 18 cats in pet carriers. Two additional children, a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old, rode in the cab with the parents.

Police said they were alerted by an anonymous phone call tip from a relative in Pennsylvania that claimed there was a Budget rental box truck approaching the Ohio-Indiana border on I-70 from the east.

The caller told police there were children in the back of the truck.

Troopers then waited and watched for the truck and eventually found it near the New Castle exit of I-70 at the Flying “J” truck stop just before 10 pm, according to CBS affiliate WTVR6.

The Detzen family told troopers they had all their belongings in the truck as they made their way to California for a job opportunity.

The seven of the kids are now with child protective services. David and Rebecca Detzen are in the Henry County jail. Their bond was set at $5,000.