WARRENS, Wis. — A Warrens woman was charged with leaving her children, ages 6 and 5, in the McMullen Park campground and deriving off for who knows how long. A manager at the 1sprawling ,000-acre park found the children wandering lost, confused and shoe-less and looking for home — and called police. The mother’s home, a camper, was found in one of McMullen Park’s 88 widely scattered campsites. Police waited for the mother, Casandra Lamb, age 22, to return. When she did, she explained that she had left the kids to go looking for a fast-food job 13 miles away in Tomah. As best as police could ascertain, she had been gone two hours. She was arrested: The charges:
> Child neglect.
> Intentional child abuse causing harm.
> Improper ventilation for pets in the camper.
The criminal complaint described horrid conditions in the camper: Six 6 to 10 inches of trash and waste covered the floor, counters and beds. One dog and two cats were confined inside. Animal feces were all over, including to the children’s’ beds. No running water. No working toilet. No working shower. The mother blamed the children for the mess and told officers that she told them repeatedly to clean it up. Officers sad the 6-year-old showed them a cut on one arm and told them his mother had been mad at him in the morning and hit him with a metal spatula. Officers located the children’s father, Zechariah Harper. He said he was pleased that the mother was in custody. The children, meanwhile, were taken to live with family members. Lamb was taken to the Monroe County jail 30 miles away in Sparta. The dog and both cats were taken to veterinarian in Sparta.
Lamb. Was living in squalor with kids in camper at lakeside McMullen County Park northwest of Warrens cranberry bogs.