Two Kalispell women have been accused of felony criminal endangerment after allegedly locking three children in a basement without food, light or access to a toilet.
Amy Newman, 46, and Crystal Mears, 37, were charged with three counts each of felony criminal endangerment on May 18 in Flathead County District Court. Both women have warrants for their arrest.
According to court documents, the Department of Family Services removed four children from a home on Fifth Avenue West in Kalispell in March. The children were removed from the home after family services learned that Newman and Mears were regularly locking three of the children, ages 9, 11, and 12, in a basement.
After the children were removed from the home, the Kalispell Police Department conducted a search and found numerous locks on the basement door, including padlocks and zip-ties. Upon going downstairs, law enforcement found that all of the windows were boarded up. They also found a bucket that the children used to go to the bathroom.
During separate interviews, Newman and Mears allegedly told police that they both kept the kids locked in the basement at night.
If convicted, the women could face up to 30 years in prison.