Left to right: Christina Dickenson and Phillip Welch (Oklahoma County Detention Center).
Authorities in Oklahoma have detained a couple after discovering their young children outdoors in frigid conditions without appropriate clothing, according to local law enforcement.
Christina Dickenson, aged 22, and Phillip Welch, 21, face charges of child neglect, as detailed in records from the Oklahoma County jail.
The incident took place on February 20 in Oklahoma City, as reported by the city’s police department.
Responding to a welfare check, officers arrived at the specified location and encountered two young children in the cold before even entering the residence.
Officials described both children as toddlers, according to information from the Oklahoma City-based Fox affiliate, KOKH. The children were reportedly found nearly alone in the street.
One toddler was seen wearing only pajamas, while the other was clad in just a diaper and a T-shirt, police indicated.
That day, the temperature in Oklahoma City ranged from a low of 27 degrees in the late morning to a high of 51 degrees by early evening, according to historical data collected by Weather Underground.
Out in the cold with the children, police also found a dog. Officers then somehow identified Dickenson and Welch as the dog’s owners.
Police eventually determined the defendants were also the parents of the children, arrested them and charged them with child neglect.
The parents were arrested and booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center on Wednesday, jail records show.
Their bonds are currently set at $50,000 cash or bail.
As of this writing, the cases against the defendants have not been docketed in the Oklahoma County court system.
Law&Crime reached out to the Oklahoma City Police Department for additional details on this story, but no response was immediately forthcoming at the time of publication.
