Bodies Of 2 Children Found Inside Nebraska Home; Cops Arrest Father Who Fled To California

In a shocking incident, a 35-year-old man has been arrested after his two children, aged 5 and 3, were found dead inside their home in Bellevue, Nebraska.

The Sarpy County Attorney's Office said they filed a criminal complaint charging Adam Price with two counts of felony child abuse resulting in death, ABC-affiliated news outlet KETV reported. Price was arrested after he fled to California.

Bellevue police said a family friend found the bodies of Emily and Theodore inside the house, located on Alberta Avenue, Sunday afternoon.

Their mother, Mary Nielsen, who lives in Illinois, had called the police twice requesting a welfare check after not hearing from her kids for several days. Following this, police went to their home — once Saturday evening and again on Sunday morning.

"She said she hadn't heard from them for a couple of days per court order to have contact with them. Officers responded here, had no contact at the door, attempted phone contact with Adam Price," BPD Capt. Andy Jashinske told 6 News.

He added that the officers "investigated during both calls for service but did not observe exigent circumstances that would allow them to force entry into the home."

Jashinske said the phone calls by Nielsen did not give enough ground for the officers to force their way inside. Entering the house without a search warrant would have violated the homeowner's Fourth Amendment right and possibly put their case against Price in jeopardy, he said.

The officers returned to the home later when someone found the children dead inside. "I'm not sure if they forced entry or how they got in, but the friends were actually the individuals that found the children inside and they contacted police and we responded after that," Jashinske said.

During the investigation, police found that Price and his car were missing. A search was immediately launched and officers got a tip-off that a license plate reader in Reno located Price's car near California. He was arrested from San Francisco on Sunday evening.

Court records indicated that the couple filed for divorce last December. Following a custody battle, a judge awarded joint custody of the children.

Neighbors said, though they didn't know the family well, the kids were often seen in front of the house or playing with other children in the area. However, some of them became suspicious when they noticed Price dropping the trash out Thursday. They said it usually wouldn't be collected until Monday, reports 6 News.