9 Children, 6 Animals Rescued from Home; 2 Arrested

MOUNT VERNON, Ind. (WISH) — A man and a woman were arrested after nine children and six animals were rescued from a home in Mount Vernon, Indiana, Tuesday.

On Tuesday, officers with the Mount Vernon Police Department were dispatched to a house in the 400 block of East 5th Street due to a caller being concerned about the number of animals in the home. Officers responded, and a woman, identified as 29-year-old Terri Harner, answered the door and let officers come inside. Before entering the home, officers could smell an “overwhelming” odor of feces and urine coming from inside the home.

Immediately after entering the home, officers had to step over multiple piles of animal feces and a puddle of urine on the floor. Officers also observed a multitude of insects and cockroaches, as well as more feces, and piles of trash, including soiled diapers and animal food, throughout the home. At one point, officers and an Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) worker observed a baby bottle on the floor of 48-year-old David Harner and Terri’s bedroom.

The baby bottle contained several cockroaches and bugs.

According to a news release, the smell of the home was “nearly unbearable” for first responders, and made it difficult to breathe inside the home.

DCS and Mount Vernon Animal Control both responded to the scene. After investigation by both agencies, nine children were removed from the home by DCS and six animals were removed by Animal Control.

David and Terri were arrested and transported to the Posey County Jail. Both are being preliminarily charged with nine counts of neglect of a dependent.