26 Children Found Behind Secret Wall Within Colorado Day Care: Police
Police in Colorado responding to a report that a local day care might have too many children ended up finding a surprise that led the facility to being closed.
On Wednesday, Colorado Springs police responded to a complaint about the Play Mountain Place day care, according to a statement by police. Police had been told there might be more children at the facility than it was licensed to care for.
“When officers arrived, no kids were located at the licensed facility. Officers then attempted to contact the owner of Play Mountain Place at her residence, which is located on the same property as the daycare facility,” a police statement said.
Police said owner Carla Faith, refused to cooperate.
“[H]owever, officers could hear the noises of children coming from her home. During their investigation, officers found a false wall that led to the home’s basement. When officers walked down the stairs, they located two adults and 26 kids inside a finished basement, all of who were under the age of three-years-old,” police said in the statement.
Police then contacted Colorado’s Department of Human Services to reach parents and have the children picked up.
Check out the KCNC report here.
The state has also suspended the license for Play Mountain Place, according to KDVR. Another daycare in Colorado Springs operated by Faith has closed.
Two investigations are now underway. Colorado Springs police are looking into any possible criminal charges against Faith or other employees. The state is looking into issues related to the facility’s license and the licenses of other daycare operations run by Faith.
Horror stories about any daycare operation can be upsetting to parents. Trusting the wellbeing of children to other adults can be fraught with worry. No one wants to hear that that trust has not been fulfilled.
Parents were vocal in their anger about the Colorado Springs facility.
“I am completely betrayed,” Jeanete Conde said, according to KCNC. “Every parent I have talked to about this, we all feel completely betrayed. It’s so hard to trust your children with people and we felt like we could really trust them.”
“I intentionally placed my son here because I thought it was the best day care in town,” said Betsy Murphy, according to KCNC.
She said her son loved Faith and “loved the other caregivers. It was always clean, never chaotic.”
This month, however, he no longer wanted to go, she said.
“I did prompt them because he kept saying, ‘Don’t take me to the little house. Don’t put me downstairs, don’t put me downstairs,’” said Murphy.
“When I think about all the lies she told me, I think they were caring for the children but also caring for them in the secret room we didn’t know about,” said Murphy.
Murphy said she is worried over finding a new place for her son, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.
“The thought of leaving him again is terrifying because I thought this was a great place,” she said. “There’s a huge problem here. This is a person I love, I trusted with my son.”
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
