Indiana State Police arrested two adults traveling down Interstate 70 on Wednesday night in connection with charges of neglect.
According to a press release issued by the Indiana State Police, authorities received an anonymous tip from someone saying they had relatives who had left Pennsylvania in a moving truck earlier that day.
The caller said the relatives were traveling with seven children — five of them were believed to be riding in the storage area of the truck.
At approximately 10 p.m., officers saw a vehicle matching the description pulling into a Flying J truck stop, located at the New Castle, Ind., exit.
After questioning 41-year-old David K. Detzen and his wife, 40-year-old Rebecca S. Detzen, State Trooper Nick Razor checked the storage area of the truck, discovering an 18-year-old daughter and four underage children.
Out of the four children in the back, their ages were from 9 to 17.
Authorities also found 18 cats in the area with the children.
The area was unheated in the 32 degree temperature, and the children were using sleeping bags.
Razor said two of the children were riding on top of tall stack of boxes.
Two other children were riding in the cab of the truck with the two adults.
The family was moving from Pennsylvania to California.
Both adults were preliminarily charged with four counts of neglect of a dependent, a Class D Felony, and were taken to the Henry County Jail.
The children were turned over to Child Protective Services and animal control took possession of the cats.
