CHARLOTTE COUNTY,
Florida -- A former Jasper police officer and his wife face charges including
child neglect after they were arrested in Florida and their children were found
abandoned nearby.
Michael and Sarah Butcher, both 30, were arrested for
causing a disturbance at the Water's Edge Resort RV park outside Punta Gorda,
Fla., Friday night, according to NBC 2 in Fort Myers.
After they were arrested by the Charlotte County Sheriff's
Office on loitering charges, another deputy found three children, ages 6, 8 and
10, who said the Butchers were their parents, the station reported.
Sheriff's deputies said the family appeared to have been
living in a truck that was filled with syringes and old food, according to NBC
2.
The Butchers face charges of loitering and child neglect,
according to the sheriff's office. Michael Butcher is also charged with
possession of a controlled substance. They are being held in the Charlotte
County Jail.
Michael
Butcher resigned from the Jasper Police Department in 2012 when he was
investigated and arrested for possession of a controlled substance,
according to The Daily Mountain Eagle. That case was dismissed by a judge in
June 2013, according to court records.