The Turpin children, ranging from 2 to 29 years old, appeared to have undergone years of abuse and starvation, some shackled to their beds, authorities said. On Saturday, Patrick Crimmins, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, said they did not have any reports or investigations concerning the Turpin family. Daughter Barbara Vinyard, 19, and her sister played with the Turpin children a few times in a nearby creek, but they wouldn’t share their names. Sometimes in the evenings she would hear the Turpin children playing in their yard, so one day she grabbed a jump rope and knocked on the door of the trailer. Like his daughter, Vinyard wishes his family had reported their neighbors earlier to officials in Texas.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 21, 2018 00:31 UTC