MILLVALE, Pa., May 28 (UPI) -- A couple were charged with child endangerment after travelers on the Pennsylvania Turnpike saw a girl in a dog cage in the back of a pickup truck, police said.
Memorial Day travelers' called to authorities led police to Millvale, Pa., where the 10-year-old child was found unharmed in the kennel with a small dog, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Tuesday.
Her mother, Abbey Carlson, and stepfather, Thomas Fishinger, were charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
Fishinger, who was driving the truck, told police they were returning home from his mother's house, the criminal complaint said. When asked why the girl was in the dog cage, Fishinger said she asked to be with the dog.
Troopers said at least two motorists on the turnpike in Beaver County called state police to report seeing the girl in a dog cage in the bed of the pickup. Authorities said one of the callers provided a license plate number.
The Tribune-Review said Millvale authorities were alerted once troopers learned the truck was registered to the couple.
