A boy who had been missing for 11 days was found alive and well in his father's basement, Detroit police say, and the drama played out last night on TV.
Charlie Bothuell, 12, went missing on June 14. His father, Charles Bothuell IV, had appeared on Nancy Grace to appeal for help finding the boy.
While he was on the air, the boy was found in his basement. When Grace informed him of this, he stunned to silence and nearly began hyperventilating:
Charlie Bothuell Found; Father Reacts on Nancy Grace
Bothuell said the basement where the boy was found had been repeatedly searched by local police, the FBI and his family. Nancy was not buying it.
It's hard to say if Bothuell was being defensive or just in a state of utter shock with his reactions, but the whole thing was definitely a little strange.
Authorities say they have no idea how the boy ended up in the basement, whether he was there the whole time or whether he was recently put there.
A rep for the Detroit PD confirmed that police dogs previously combed the house at least four times prior to June 25 and did not turn up the boy.
He was found, with cereal and soda, behind a makeshift barricade of boxes; there was no secret basement area and Charlie was not being restrained.
Detroit Police Chief James Craig said at a press conference, "I've never seen anything quite like this ... but the outcome - I couldn't be happier."
Charlie is safe and out of the house, and will "get two things - medical treatment and some food ... he was nervous but excited, and glad to see the police.
The boy's father had said the last time he saw Charlie was at his home, when his son took a bathroom break from working out and never came back.
Charlie's father had been administered a lie-detector test by the FBI, but results were inconclusive. The boy's stepmother refused to take a polygraph.
No criminal charges have been filed or are being pursued at this point.
Devin Langford, a drunk man in custody, tried to urinate out of the rear passenger side window of a moving police car because he was drunk. It did not go as planned.
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