The two little girls were crying outside of a parked blue pickup truck when Columbus police found them Saturday evening at Big Walnut Park on the East Side.

Inside the truck, police said, they found their parents passed out, overdosed on heroin.

Columbus police administered Narcan to the couple. The mother, who was not identified, was taken to Mount Carmel East hospital.

The father, Anthony R. Boster, 34, of the 7000 block of Janis Drive, appeared Monday in Franklin County Municipal Court on two counts of endangering children and one felony count of receiving stolen property.

Columbus police had noticed that the steering column of the truck was damaged, so they ran a check and discovered that the truck was reported stolen.

Boster pleaded not guilty on the child endangerment charges, but could not by law enter a plea on the felony count. He was being held in the Franklin County Jail on Monday night in lieu of $10,000 bond.

The two girls, ages 11 and 3, were taken into custody by Franklin County Children's Services.

Boster told police that his wife got the Chevy Silverado from a friend, but he refused to provide the name of the friend. He told police he didn't know the pickup was stolen.

jwoods@dispatch.com

@WoodsNight