Red Roof Inn meth: 4-year-old taken to hospital after Methamphetamine lab bust in hotel room

SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio - A 4-year-old child was taken to Akron Children’s Hospital on Thursday after being found in a hotel room where there was an active Methamphetamine lab.

It was the second time within a year that a child was removed from a room at the Red Roof Inn after a meth lab was discovered.

Springfield Township police said they found "a cooking meth lab" at the hotel on South Arlington Road around 6:45 p.m.

The child was released from the hospital.  Police said she did not appear to be harmed.

Summit County Children's Services has taken custody of the girl. She has been released to her grandmother while the agency continues to investigate.

Five people were arrested and charged with various felony drug charges: Yvette Ray, 39, of Akron; Justin Delaney, 32, of Akron; Jeffrey Guilliams, 40, of Akron; Stacy Hervet, 39, of Barberton; and Edward Hervet, 39, of Akron. They are being held in the Summit County Jail.

Ray and Delaney are the parents of the girl. Springfield Township Police Sgt. Eric East said additional counts of child endangering will be added.

Police were led to the motel after getting a tip from the site of another meth lab that was busted in Akron.

In August of 2012, a boy was removed from the same hotel after a meth lab was found in a room. His parents were arrested and charged.

Red Roof released the following statement on Friday afternoon: "Red Roof cooperates with the local authorities and does not tolerate illegal activities on our properties. It has become a police matter and Red Roof is fully cooperating with their investigation."

R. Daryl Steiner, director of child abuse prevention at Akron Children's Hospital, refers to the meth problem as "an epidemic" and said more and more children are being exposed to potentially explosive cooking process.

"There has been an uptick in the number of children that we're seeing in the emergency room," Dr. Steiner said.

Meth is a highly addictive stimulate that is manufactured with a combination of liquids, chemicals and acids.

Dr. Steiner said children can suffer serious health problems if they inhale meth vapors.

"It can harm their breathing and it can cause other toxic effects potentially to the liver and kidneys," Dr. Steiner said.

In 2012, 17-month-old Patrick Lerch died after ingesting meth in the basement of an Akron home. His mother and three men were convicted and sentenced to prison in connection with the toddler's death.

Springfield Township police have busted 16 meth labs within the past two years. Sgt. East said children were exposed to meth in six of the cases.