Homeless couple reportedly caring for child in a tent

Modesto CorteztellsABC-7 he ran into a family living in a tent off of Loop 375 on El Paso’s East side.

CorteztoldABC-7 he was very concerned because there was a young child living with them and with these cold temps it just didn’t seem right.

“I was coming down the road andI noticed a couple pushing a heavy vehicle,” said Cortez.

Cortez decided to be a good Samaritan, help out and give them a boost but something caught his eye.

“I noticed there was a tent,” said Cortez.

Cortezasked them if they were living in there and the couple told him ‘yes,’ and that they had been homeless for aboutsix months.

Cortez tellsABC-7 it shocked him because they were in there early twenties, but beforeCortez left, “I heard a kids voice, he also said ‘thank you.’I don’t know if it was a male or female andI said wow, they have a kid inside the vehicle,” said Cortez.

Cortez said the child was around 5 years old.

ABC-7’s Gerardo Najera found the campsite and interviewed 21-year-old Louis Lopez.

“Someone called us and told us you guys have been living here for a while and you guys have a little kid in there,” said Najera.

Lopezdidn’t hesitate to talk withNajera but it didn’t start well.

“If you can pardon me,I thinkI need to throw up,I think I’m sick,” said Lopez.

Lopez started throwing up after the first question.

Lopez tells ABC-7 he lives in the tent with a couple and the child is someone else’s.

Najera asks Lopez about the child, “he’s not here right now?” “No, he’s not here right now,” said Lopez.

Najeraasked Lopez about the child allegedly staying there and he confirmed it.

“We’re just having him with us temporarily,” said Lopez.

Lopez toldNajera a lady who lends them a vehicle, lets her kid stay with them.

“He stays out here in the tent?, asked Najera. “Sometimes he spends the night,” says Lopez.

Lopeztells ABC-7the child is not in any danger.

“Ah no, he just spends the night with us sometimes, if it were to be extremely cold we wouldn’t keep him with us,” said Lopez.

Lopez told ABC-7, “He’s being treated well he doesn’t go through nothing bad with us. If it were to be extremely cold we wouldn’t keep him with us.”

For Cortez, it was encounter that left him emotional.

“It was very touching for me, I continued down the road and my tears came down,” said Cortez.

Cortez tellsABC-7 the last time he saw the child and the couple they were going out to go panhandle.

After the interview,ABC-7 gotin contact with an El Paso Police department spokesman who sent a officer to goinvestigate the situation.

Child Protective Services tellABC-7 a report needs to be filed, they would need to do a risk assessment on the child’s care and if in fact the child is being neglected.