The good news is that a missing three-year-old girl was found after being reported missing by her Butte County parents. The bad news, for the parents at least, is that police also found about 7,000 pounds of marijuana, plus more than 5,000 illegal plants on their property.
A three-year-old girl went missing early Monday night in the Butte County township of Bangor, some 70 miles north of Sacramento. Just after 10:30 pm Monday night, the girls’ frantic parents called the Butte County Sheriff’s Office. Those deputies arrived, and first searched the parents’ sprawling, 52-acre property on rural Laporte Road.
“BCSO deputies and detectives conducted an investigation and determined the child had been missing since approximately 7:30 pm on May 6,” the Butte County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release. “Detectives also located evidence the child’s parents were cultivating marijuana on the property, and the child frequented marijuana grow sites with her parents.”
Well, the sheriff’s deputies did find the missing three-year-old girl at about 3:30 am, under a large tarp, “approximately two feet away from hundreds of marijuana plants.” And while the child was transported to a hospital for medical attention, deputies returned with a warrant to search the whole property.
And as SFGate reports, the deputies would discover nearly 6,700 pounds of processed marijuana and more than 5,000 illegal cannabis plants. They also discovered four firearms. Parents Mayra Barajas (32) and Jose Valenciacontreas (35) were booked on charges of felony child endangerment.
After being treated for spending several hours outdoors in the cold, the three-year-old was placed in the custody of Butte County Children’s Services.
Related: Illegal Marijuana Farmer Found Guilty for Starting the 2020 Dolan Fire [SFist]
Image: Blooming cannabis ready to be used for extraction into various products medical and food or drink even for entertainment. (Getty Images)
