Dubuque parents arrested after children found outside in sub-freezing temperatures

Police said two Dubuque parents face felony neglect charges after two children were found wandering outside in below-freezing temperatures and another child was found sleeping in an otherwise empty apartment. 26-year-old Isabel A. Gonzalez and 27-year-old Joseph A. Larson of Dubuque both were arrested at approximately 2:15 a.m. Tuesday at their residence, both on charges of three counts of neglect or abandonment of a dependent person. Larson faces an additional charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. Court documents state that Dubuque police responded at approximately 12:40 a.m. Tuesday to the 3200 block of Getty Terrace for a report of two young children wandering alone outside. The children were 3 and 1, Dubuque’s temperature at the time was 11 degrees Fahrenheit. Police entered the residence and discovered a 5-year-old child sleeping with no adults in the apartment. The parents pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex at approximately 1:25 a.m. Gonzalez told police she and Larson had left the apartment at approximately 11:45 p.m. Monday and that all three children had been sleeping, documents state.