After gaining nationwide media attention, a 12-year-old Detroit boy was found on Wednesday under a makeshift barricade in his family’s basement. He was reported missing on June 14.
Charles Bothuell V was found when police executed a search warrant for the home. There also appeared to be food nearby. After several searches of the home, even with cadaver dogs, police suspected homicide and began questioning the boy’s family.
Detroit Police Chief James Craig said it’s unclear whether Bothuell was in the basement the entire time, and is looking for evidence of child abuse. Although the boy did not call out, he was reportedly happy to see police.
An interview of the boy’s father, Charles Bothuell IV, on “Nancy Grace” quickly went viral after he responded unusually when Grace told him that police had found the boy safely, on-air. Bothuell quickly said he did not have his phone on him at the time, suggesting he didn’t know the boy was in his basement.
“For anybody to imply that I somehow knew that my son was in the basement, it’s absurd and it’s wrong,” the father later told local news. “I love my son. I’m glad that he’s home and he’s going to have the great future that he deserves to have.”
According to police, the boy is staying with his birth mother and has not had contact with his father yet.