Parents accused of leaving 3 children alone in filthy house without food formally charged

EVERETT, Wash. -- The Lake Stevens parents accused of leaving their three young children alone in a filthy, animal feces-filled house with no food or heat were charged Friday with criminal mistreatment and abandoning dependents.

Mark Anthony Dorson and Amanda Ann Foley, both 33, were being held in the Snohomish County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail each.

The discovery of the children came last Saturday, when Lake Stevens police officers were called to a home in the 9700 block of 11th Place SE to a report of possible child neglect.

"When they arrived, they spoke with a 7-year-old female who was padlocked inside the house, from the inside," a police news release said.

When officers got into the home, the release said, they "found three children, ages 7, 3, and 11 months, abandoned and living in deplorable conditions. They were surrounded by animal feces and garbage with no heat or food present."

Police said it was unknown how long the children had been left unattended, but when transported to the hospital to be examined, one of the children "had a core temperature of 94 degrees and was treated for hypothermia and dehydration."

All three children were transferred to the custody of Child Protective Services.

Investigators tracked down the parents in Monroe and arrested them, police said.

>>> Click here to see previous Q13 FOX News story on this case