The owner of a Colorado kindergarten is under investigation after using a false wall to hide 26 children in her basement.
Police visited Play Mountain Place on Wednesday after reports that the facility was housing more children than it was allowed.
The kindergarten had a licensed capacity of six children, according to data on the Colorado Department of Human Services website.
The owner, 58-year-old Carla Faith, refused to cooperate with police. Following the sound of children, police made the shocking discovery.
"During their investigation, officers found a false wall that led to the home's basement. When officers walked down the stairs they located two adults and 26 kids inside a finished basement," read a statement from Colorado Springs Police.
All of the children found in the basement were under three years old.
The case was taken over by the Department of Human Services and the Crimes Against Children Unit.
A parent of one of the children says she is hurt by the betrayal.
"Every parent I have talked to about this, we all feel completely betrayed. It's so hard to trust your children with people and we felt like we could really trust them," Jeanette Conde told CBS.
The license for the kindergarten was immediately suspended, and Faith's other facilities are being investigated by the Department of Human Services.
Three workers were arrested for misdemeanour child abuse relating to neglect, but the charges were cancelled as detectives investigate further.
Faith was not arrested at the scene as police pursue the appropriate charges for her.
