Two Valley parents have been arrested after officials discovered methamphetamine in two of their three children.
Reports show the children, all boys ages eight, six, and four, were underweight and required dental surgery to repair their severely damaged teeth.
The Arizona Department of Child Safety received reports in October of 2015 that the children were being exposed to meth, were not attending school, and were not being fed. However, during a welfare check in January 2016, officials reported the children appeared healthy and clean.
It wasn’t until March 2016, DCS located and removed the children from the home due to their living conditions. After medical exams, it was discovered that all three children weighed around 40 pounds, all required dental surgery to remove teeth as well as required root canals and crowns; the eight and four year old children tested positive for having meth in their systems.
Drug pipes and lighters were also located on a living room table in the home.
Police say the children were on a limited diet due to dental issues after first being brought into foster care, but after surgeries, they were able to begin gaining weight.
The parents, 37-year-old Charlotte Theresa Salgado and 50-year-old Miguel Angel Salgado, were arrested at their home near 40th Street and Broadway Road home on December 28.
They are both being charged with multiple counts of child abuse.
ABC15 spoke to the grandmother of the three boys. She declined to give us her name and said the allegations against her daughter and son-in-law were all lies.
"I cry every day for my grandkids. I didn't see them now for a long time. I don't want to think about that. I want to see my grandkids, my grandkids suffer for nothing," said the woman.
ABC15 showed up at the Department of Child Safety headquarters to find out it took DCS officials five months after they got the first tip to remove the children from the home.
A spokeswoman gave us this statement:
"Due to confidentiality laws relative to Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment (CAPTA), and ARS 8-807, we are unable to respond to this request."
