Missing Brooklyn Park girl found, police investigate 'concerning' home conditions

BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (KMSP) - Brooklyn Park law enforcement are investigating the ordeal that unfolded inside a home on the 8200 block of Queen Avenue since 11-year-old Tanaisha Tennin was found more than 12 hours after she ran away following an argument with her mother. As police waited for word of her whereabouts, they searched her home and made some concerning discoveries.

“The infestation of rodents and bugs inside the house is one of the reasons why the officers are using protective gear to protect themselves while they search the house,” said Deputy Chief Mark Bruley of the Brooklyn Park police department.

Neighbor Emily Frenette said this is the third time this month police have been called to the home.

“It makes me really sad because this has always been a really good neighborhood,” Frenette said. “I moved here when I was 10 and I’ve loved it, and that’s always been a really troublesome house from the beginning. My biggest fear is that she might be hurt.” 

Tennin’s mother called 911 at 3 a.m. Monday to report Tanaisha had run away from their home. Bruley said when officers arrived on scene, Tanaisha's mother was "clearly in need of medical attention" and was taken to the hospital. The remaining children were removed from the mother's custody and placed on a protective hold.

But Tanaisha's mother did not cooperate with the investigation, leading law enforcement to scour through the home police say was unfit for any child to live in.

As the Hennepin County Crime Lab and the Brooklyn Park Mobile Command Center conducted an extensive search, Deputy Chief Bruley dropped a bombshell.

“The little girl has run away in the past. However, there have been numerous police calls to this address related to the welfare of the children; there was a child death investigation here in February that’s still an open active investigation,” he said.

Police tell Fox 9 the eight-year-old child who was found dead inside the same home back in February is also connected to the same family. 

Just after 4 p.m., Marilyn Harris, a neighbor, arrived at the home with Tanaisha. Harris said she spotted Tanaisha outside of a Bloomington clinic 20 miles away. 

"She was sitting on the curb, we just brought her home,” Harris said. “She just asked my husband, ‘can I get a ride back to Brooklyn Park,’ and I looked and said, ‘sure.’”

Once at the home, law enforcement cleared the scene and took Tanaisha with them.

Tanaisha will be placed in foster care along with the at least three other children who lived at the Queen Avenue home in question.