by Ron Harris
A former Jasper police officer
and his wife were arrested over the weekend in Florida after the couple’s three
children were found walking through the woods looking for help.
Michael Scott Butcher, 30, and
his wife, Sarah, 30, were taken into custody Friday night in Punta Gorda, Fla.,
and each charged with child neglect. The couple — who initially claimed to be
brother and sister — were also charged with loitering and prowling and
possession of crystal methamphetamine.
According to reports from ABC 7
in Fort Myers, Fla., the Butchers were causing a disturbance at Water’s Edge
Resort, an RV park just outside the city.
The report said it didn’t take
long before the neighborhood knew the Butchers didn’t belong there.
“The young man seemed to be
quite agitated,” witness Arthur Giasson told a reporter from ABC 7. “Talking in a loud manner and just acting
strangely.”
Giasson said he went outside to
lock up his four-wheeler when he noticed a woman standing by the trailers, as a
man walked down the street and allegedly started banging on peoples’ doors
asking to be let inside. A resident called the neighbordhood’s security guard.
“The dome light [of their
vehicle] was on but no one was there,” the guard said in the report. “Then, I
heard a voice and said, ‘Hey you two!’”
The guard called 911 after the
Butchers refused to leave the area.
He was high,” said the security
guard. “He was on something, that’s for sure.”
The Butchers were arrested for
loitering and prowling and meth possession.
During their booking process,
the report said, the jail received a phone call from another deputy. He had
found three children claiming the Butcher’s were their parents. The children
were found abandoned in woods not far from the RV park.
“I didn’t even know they had
three kids,” said witness Karen Taylor. “This is the first I heard they had
three kids. And to drop your kids off in the woods and just... it’s... it’s awful.”
Deputies said the Butcher
family was apparently living out of a truck filled with syringes and old food.
The report didn’t say how long the children had been wandering around in the
woods, but that they were “very dirty, hungry and cold.”
“That’s terrible these young
children have to put up with a couple of parents that are that neglecting of
them,” said Giasson. “Some people just don’t deserve children. I hope they get
the proper care.”
The children, ages 6, 8 and 10,
are now in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Their parents are being held at
the Charlotte County Jail without bond.
