BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. - After investigating a Brooklyn Park girl missing for 12 hours after running away, authorities removed her and three siblings from the home.
A fourth sibling, an 8-year-old boy, died in the home on February 1.
Brooklyn Park's Code Enforcement and Public Health Division has deemed the home on Queen Avenue unfit for human habitation due to health and safety conditions.
Brooklyn Park police wore haz-mat suits going in and out of the home on Monday.
"The infestation of rodents and bugs inside the house is one of the reasons officers are using protective gear," said Chief Deputy Mark Bruley.
Then Bruley gave a big revelation.
"There was a child death investigation here in February, that is still an open and active investigation," he sad.
Court records show the 8-year-old was found dead in his bed by his mother.
Hennepin County Child Protection Services tried to remove the other four children from the house during the investigation, but Judge Peter Cahill dismissed the petition, writing that the child appeared to die from "influenza or some other illness."
CPS filed another petition in May, after they say the mother stopped cooperating with the death investigation.
According to the court paperwork, medical professionals found "neither a viral infection nor the flu" caused the boy's death. The petition says there is "no evidence of a drug overdose."
The petition also notes the boy had older scars, "indicative of being struck with a belt or cord."
According to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, his cause of death is undetermined.
Monday afternoon, a neighbor found the 11-year-old who ran away 20 miles away and brought her home.
Police say they found her 12-year-old brother in a park where he'd been living for two days, and they found another sibling at a friend's house.
Police say the children are now in protective custody and the mother was hospitalized.
A Hennepin County spokesperson released a statement about the efforts to remove the children from the home, saying, "Child protection has acted diligently... and in the end, the juvenile court makes the final decision."
