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Family Of Missing Crystal Lake Boy Is No Stranger To Police

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A.J. Freund's family is no stranger to police.

CBS 2 has dug into dozens of pages of past police reports from times that officers were called out to the home.

CBS 2's Audrina Bigos has the latest from the family's Crystal Lake home where police searched within the past hour.

Crystal Lake police visited the home 10 times over the past five years. On Tuesday, detectives looked in the backyard but their focus seemed to be on the grass in the front and the side of the house. It's unclear what prompted detectives to revist the house.

Officers in Crystal Lake kept pretty detailed notes during their visits to A.J. Freund's family home prior to his disappearance. The bulk of the notes: All about the condition of the home.

Seven months ago, last September, someone told police "the family was residing there without power and bad living conditions."

When officers arrived the mother, Joann Cunningham, wouldn't let them inside. From the outside, they reported the grass bring two feet tall. One officer said "I could see the [electric] meter did not appear to be running." He later wrote that Cunningham admitted she and the boys were living without power for some time.

The latest visit was this past December. An officer clearly stated the house is "cluttered, dirty and in disrepair." Officers said they saw dog feces and urine throughout the house. This was in the middle of winter and officers said the windows were falling apart. The rooms cold.

One officer said the "kitchen had only subflooring that was jagged and broken. He said the "ceiling in the kitchen appeared to have water damage and was peeling and open to the piping." Another officer wrote "in the room where the boys slept, the window was open and the smell of feces was overwhelming."

And when the officer saw the boys he said one had "... a large bruise on his right hip." Cunningham "stated it must have been from the dog..."

To catch up on CBS 2's coverage, including a timeline, go to our website CBSChicago.com/searchforaj for more information. 

 

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