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Parents who vanished after fire killed 10-year-old found living on Appalachian Trail, arrested

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Two Gwinnett County parents who had been on the run since their 10-year-old daughter died in a house fire on Easter Sunday have been arrested.

William Linn McCue, 47, and Carina Wisniewski McCue, 38, were arrested Wednesday. Authorities found them living somewhere along the Appalachian Trail.

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The couple had been charged with cruelty to children and false imprisonment after a fire broke out at their home on Beaver Road in April, killing one of their five children.

After the fire was extinguished, the McCue’s daughter was found dead in a windowless room. Her body was discovered in a makeshift bed in a bathtub.

Investigators initially arrested the child’s 15-year-old brother on arson charges, but the investigation determined that the children had been living in squalor with no running water.

Investigators said there was not adequate plumbing in the house, the toilets and showers did not work and that some of the children didn’t even know how to use toilet paper.

“There was evidence that the children were to not leave the home for years. There was evidence that the children were not given adequate food,” a social worker told a judge in court.

After police put out a warrant for the McCues’ arrests, the couple vanished. The were last seen at a hotel in Lawrenceville and driving a white Honda Accord around Norcross.

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It’s unclear where on the Appalachian Trail the couple was located. The trail runs from north Georgia up the Eastern Seaboard to Maine.

The McCues were arrested and taken to the Gwinnett County police department. They have both been charged with Cruelty to Children and are being held without bond.

It’s unclear if they face additional charges or why they went on the run.

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The couple’s four surviving children were placed in protective custody. It’s unclear if the teen who set the fire is still facing charges.


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