DICKSON, Tenn. (WSMV) – What began Thursday as a welfare run in southern Dickson County turned into what Sheriff Tim Eads considered a rescue.

Eads said a 911 caller alerted deputies to a home on Caroline Lane.

Eyewitnesses said the home was padlocked, the parents were gone, but their four children were left inside.

“[In] 37 years I’ve seen a lot of bad things that happen to children,” Eads said. “I’ve never seen somebody lock their entire residence to keep the children inside.”

Eads said once deputies got inside the trailer, they found a disturbing scene.

“It was described as deplorable,” Eads said. “I don’t believe any of the windows were raised, it’s my understanding there was no air conditioning.”

In the arrest affidavits for the parents, deputies describe trash throughout the home with an overwhelming rancid smell.

“Four refrigerators didn’t work,” Eads said. “There was quite a bit of trash. There was a smell of rotting food possibly.”

Neighbors claim they didn’t see the parents for over 24 hours. They also claim they saw Child Protective Services at the home on multiple occasions.

Both parents, Ismael Reyes Lopez and Maria Tafolla Romero, eventually returned to the home where they were arrested by deputies.

“Children…they’re defenseless,” Eads said. “They’re dependent on their security, their safety, their living conditions, and they have no control over that.”

We’re told the four children in this case ranged in age from one to 14 years old. One of the children had a feeding tube in when deputies arrived.

The parents claim they padlock the door because it does not always stay shut, and that allows their children to get out.

Both parents were arrested and taken to the Dickson County Jail where they face multiple charges of child abuse or neglect.