Two charged after missing child report reveals 'deplorable' living conditions in Ona

CABELL COUNTY, W.Va. (WCHS) — Two Cabell County residents have been charged with child neglect after the report of a missing autistic child revealed “deplorable” living conditions in a camper housing four children, court records said.

Courtney Markin, 23, and Cory Markin, 31, of Ona, have been charged with child neglect creating risk of injury, according to criminal complaints filed in Cabell County Magistrate Court.

The complaints said on Aug. 2, deputies were dispatched to a Howells Mill Road home in response to a missing child.

Deputies reported finding a child “streaked with dirt,” “wearing an ill-fitting pull-up diaper” with “visibly greasy hair” inside a set of cabinets in a camper bedroom.

Court records said deputies found “rotting food spilling from an open trash bag,” “flies clouding the inside of the camper” and “what appeared to be dried human feces smeared on the bathroom floor.”

Investigators found the camper did not have running water. One bedroom didn’t have a mattress and the other was “covered in junk,” records said.

Investigators said the camper was home to four children, all found to be “coated with a layer of grime.”

Deputies said Child Protective Services have been notified of the situation.