Elisha Hessel tried for years to get pregnant.
When she finally did become pregnant earlier this year, joy turned to shock after she discovered that her new home in Jefferson County, Missouri, was a former meth lab — and that leftover amphetamines had seeped into her body, NBC affiliate KSDK reported.
A prenatal appointment revealed that she tested positive for the drug, the station reported. The couple say their unborn child is fine.
Now, Elisha Hessel and her husband Tyler will have to pay more than $100,000 to clean up their home — even though its history was never disclosed to them during the home-buying process, as state law requires, the station reported.
Authorities found meth-making supplies at the home in 2013 after receiving a tip about a possible lab there, according to a police report obtained by the station.
But Jefferson County Undersheriff Timothy Whitney told KSDK that “there wasn’t evidence” to “suggest that distribution or manufacturing was going on.”
The sheriff’s office had no record of amphetamine contamination testing at the property, the station reported, and the possibility that it was a lab was never reported to code enforcement officers.
Still, the couple confirmed that it was a meth lab on Jefferson County’s list of 2013 property seizures.
An expert hired by the couple to evaluate the home said that the contaminants can spread through paints, flooring, cabinetry and the HVAC system, according to the station.
The $100,000 remediation estimate includes replacing drywall, duct work and the HVAC system — a sum the couple is seeking help to pay off through a GoFundMe page.
The Hessels' baby girl is due in January and the GoFundMe page says prenatal tests are "looking marvelous for baby Hessel!"
