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| US police find 11 starving children in New Mexico compound | US police find 11 starving children in New Mexico compound |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| Police in the US state of New Mexico have rescued 11 malnourished children who were being kept in squalid conditions in a remote desert compound. | Police in the US state of New Mexico have rescued 11 malnourished children who were being kept in squalid conditions in a remote desert compound. |
| The local sheriff's office said the children, aged 1 to 15, had no shoes, were wearing rags and "looked like Third World refugees". | The local sheriff's office said the children, aged 1 to 15, had no shoes, were wearing rags and "looked like Third World refugees". |
| Five adults were found at the scene, including two heavily armed men. | Five adults were found at the scene, including two heavily armed men. |
| Police searched the site after receiving a message that read: "We are starving and need food and water." | Police searched the site after receiving a message that read: "We are starving and need food and water." |
| It is not clear how the group ended up at the compound in Amalia. | It is not clear how the group ended up at the compound in Amalia. |
| Police described the compound as a small underground trailer covered by plastic, with no running water or electricity. | Police described the compound as a small underground trailer covered by plastic, with no running water or electricity. |
| Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe told ABC News the children were hungry, thirsty and filthy. | Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe told ABC News the children were hungry, thirsty and filthy. |
| "I've been a cop for 30 years. I've never seen anything like this. Unbelievable," he said. | "I've been a cop for 30 years. I've never seen anything like this. Unbelievable," he said. |
| "They were skinny, their ribs showed, they were in very poor hygiene and very scared." | "They were skinny, their ribs showed, they were in very poor hygiene and very scared." |
| No fresh water was found at the site, and the only food there was a few potatoes and a box of rice, police said. | No fresh water was found at the site, and the only food there was a few potatoes and a box of rice, police said. |
| Two armed men, Siraj Wahhaj and Lucan Morten, were arrested at the scene. | |
| The three women were also detained but later released. | The three women were also detained but later released. |
| Mr Hogrefe told ABC it appeared the women and children "were brainwashed and feel great intimidation from the men that were in control of this facility". | Mr Hogrefe told ABC it appeared the women and children "were brainwashed and feel great intimidation from the men that were in control of this facility". |
| The 11 children have been taken into care by local social services. | The 11 children have been taken into care by local social services. |
| Mr Wahhaj is also wanted on suspicion of abducting his three-year-old son, but the boy was not among the group found at the compound, US media report. | Mr Wahhaj is also wanted on suspicion of abducting his three-year-old son, but the boy was not among the group found at the compound, US media report. |