West Virginia parents charged after autistic child found miles from home without shoes in the cold

An autistic teen was found wandering miles from his West Virginia home in the cold.

Now, two parents have been charged with child neglect creating risk of injury after police deemed conditions in their home “deplorable.”

On Feb. 3, deputies were investigating a missing persons complaint involving a 13-year-old juvenile with autism, WSAZ reported.

The child left a home in the 100 block of 3rd Ave. North in St. Albans, West Virginia, according to WSAZ.

The child was found several miles away from home, not wearing shoes and in inclement weather, WSAZ reported.

Deputies found the home where the child lived. It had deplorable living conditions with no running water, littered with mud and trash on the inside and without a front door, according to WSAZ.

There were two small children in the home that appeared to not have bathed in days, WSAZ reported.

All three children were placed into the custody of Child Protective Services, according to WSAZ.

Their parents, Phillip S. Duelley, 38, and Stacy L. Mullins, 39, were charged and arrested with child neglect, WSAZ reported.

Duelley and Mullins are being held at South Central Regional Jail, according to WSAZ.