(NEWSnet/AP) — Two adoptive parents in West Virginia were charged with felony neglect after two children were found locked inside a barn and a third child was located in an unprotected loft at an adjacent home, police said Tuesday.

Charges include gross child neglect creating a substantial risk of injury.

Authorities began investigating after they received a call from someone expressing concern about the children’s welfare. Kanawha County sheriff’s deputies forced their way into the barn, where a boy and a girl were locked inside a small room. The children had been deprived of adequate food and hygienic care, and the room had no running water or bathroom facilities, the sheriff’s department said.

At the main residence, a child was found alone in a loft about 15 fee high with no protection from falling, the department said. No adults were present at the home.

The adoptive parents were arrested when they returned. Each was held in jail on a $200,000 cash bond.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 12.

The Associated Press is not naming the parents in order to protect the identity of the children, who have been placed with Child Protective Services.

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