Two parents arrested in Camden County for Florida child abuse investigation
CAMDENTON, Mo. (KMIZ)
Two people were arrested and charged in relation to a child abuse investigation in Florida, according to a press release from the Camden County Sheriff’s Office.
Nikolas Adam Harris, 38, and Helen Harris, 33, were each charged on Monday in Camden County with drug possession and two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child involving drugs. They are both being held at the Camden County Jail without bond.
The US Marshals contacted the Camden County Sheriff’s Office to ask for assistance to find two missing children, the release states. According to the probable cause statement, an Escambia County, Florida Juvenile Court had ruled on March 13 that the children were missing and endangering and ordered law enforcement to take them into custody. The release states the children were “living in unsafe and abusive conditions.”
“Their investigation revealed evidence of the children being inhumanely restrained and evidence of methamphetamine manufacturing and drug abuse in the home where the family was squatting. Before Florida law enforcement could seize the children per the court order, the parents fled the state with them both,” the release states.
US Marshals tracked the couple through several states, and then to the Springfield, Missouri, and Branson areas before finding them at a residence in Osage Beach, the statement says. Deputies executed a search warrant at a residence in the 100 block of Channel Buoy Drive on Friday.
According to the probable cause statement, deputies found a bag with three glass pipes and a pill bottle that had a white, powdery substance, as well as a debit card for Helen Harris. Two of the pipes tested positive for methamphetamine. Deputies allegedly found more pipes with a white, powdery substance in the bedroom, along with sex toys, children’s clothing and toys scattered around the room, the statement says. The couple denied having drugs in the home, the statement says.
The press release states the children were turned over to the Missouri Children’s Division, who are coordinating with the Florida authorities to take them to a safe place in an undisclosed location.
