Police in New Mexico have rescued 11 children — ranging in age from one to 15 years of age — reportedly living in squalor in a compound near the New Mexico-Colorado border.

Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe told ABC News Radio that the children's ribs were visible they were so starved of food.

"They were in very poor hygiene and very scared," he said.

"I've been a cop for 30 years. I've never seen anything like this. Unbelievable," Hogrefe said. "These children were hungry, they were thirsty, they were filthy."

Taos County Sheriff's Deputies converged on the compound — which reportedly has no electrical power or running water — after securing a warrant to search the remote property for a missing 3-year-old boy who was allegedly kidnapped from Georgia by his father, 39-year-old Siraj Wahhaj.

Wahhaj and another man — identified as Lucas Morten — were taken into custody. Wahhaj was charged with child abduction and Morten charged with harboring a fugitive.

The children were taken into protective custody and later handed over to the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department.