Police rescued four homeless, elderly men who were held captive in appalling conditions today.
Police went to a residence in Houston to conduct a welfare check after receiving a tip from a concerned neighbor.
Three of the men lived in the basement, and one lived in the house. Police accuse their captor of cashing men’s benefit checks. At least one man is a veteran who receives a monthly check from the Veteran’s Administration.
The men told police that their captor lured them there with promises of food and cigarettes.
"I'm shocked," neighbor Virginia Rogers told the Associated Press. "I'm baffled. I didn't have a clue."
Three of the men went to the hospital to receive treatment for malnutrition.
Police also located four women in the house, three of whom appear to have mental disabilities.
“Oh my God, it just touched my heart,” a woman told local news station KHOU . “I mean, I just feel for them. I don’t know, it just really got me hurt.”
Image: by RoFra, via Wikimedia Commons