Elderly woman, runaway taken from squalor house in Island Lake
An elderly Island Lake woman has been removed from her home after authorities found animal feces, human waste and rotting food inside, police said Friday.
Carol McCraren, 72, was taken to an area hospital Wednesday after the conditions in the home were discovered. A private social-service agency is seeking guardianship, police said.
The discovery also led to the arrests of three people, including McCraren's daughter, on a variety of charges.
The incident unfolded Wednesday after a caregiver with Catholic Charities went to the house, 3216 Midway Drive, to check on McCraren. McCraren recently had been released from a nursing home and was living with her 48-year-old daughter, Maureen Goddard, in the rented house, Island Lake police said.
The caregiver called authorities after seeing conditions at the house, Police Chief John Fellmann said. Police officers who responded called the scene disgusting, he said.
Authorities found four dogs, two cats and two turtles living in the house. The animals were malnourished and dirty, police said. A Lake County animal control officer removed the animals.
Two people found in the house were arrested, too.
One was a runaway teenager whose last known address was in McHenry. Justin Head, 17, was charged with possession of cannabis. He was released to his parents after his arrest.
A second person found in the house was wanted on a warrant for domestic battery in McHenry County. Daniel Johnson, 18, of 2512 Vaupell, McHenry, was arrested on that warrant, then released to McHenry County sheriff's police.
A third person found in the house, a 19-year-old pregnant woman whose name was not released, was taken from the home for her own safety and later released, Fellmann said.
Goddard was arrested later in the day after she went to village hall to pay her water bill, police said. She was charged with harboring a runaway, a misdemeanor, and three animal-related village ordinance violations, including mistreatment of animals.
The Lake County state's attorney's office is investigating whether to file additional charges, Fellmann said.
The house was deemed uninhabitable by an Island Lake building inspector. The landlord was ticketed for unspecified code violations, police said.