A neighbor called the Missouri Department of Family Services hotline number Monday and may have rescued a 17-year-old boy from years of abuse at the hands of his father and stepmother. The Associated Press reports a Kansas City teenager was allegedly found handcuffed to a pole in his father's' basement after authorities checked on the boy.
* Crystal Anderson, who moved into a nearby apartment complex in August, said authorities responded within an hour of her phone call Monday. Police say they found the boy Tuesday handcuffed to a steel pole and curled in the fetal position while laying on the floor of the home's basement. The boy was then taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
* According to KSHB, the teenager and his father were in court Thursday morning for a hearing to determine the living conditions in the home. The father, who has not been charged at this point, showed up in court wearing sunglasses. The boy, who is currently in protective custody of the state, looked emaciated with sunken cheeks and visible bones underneath his skin.
* Fox4KC.com reports horrific details of the case. A neighbor told the television station the older brother said the teen was living in a "permanent jail in the basement." The reason given was that the boy hit his stepmother.
* The Fox station cited a police report in which officers heard a voice say "I didn't do anything" coming from the dark basement. Police used a handcuff key to free the boy Tuesday. The teen told authorities he had been in the basement since Sept. 27. Police said he looked thin, sunken in and very pale.
* Clay County juvenile officer Alan Gremli told KSHB the boy is glad to be out of the situation. The state offered to help the developmentally disabled boy's family in the past, but the father and stepmother refused the assistance on at least two occasions.
* Anderson, the 24-year-old neighbor who called the state, told the Associated Press she befriended the teen when she moved into her apartment in August. The woman said she saw the boy almost every day during the month and then he disappeared for four months.
* The neighbor didn't see the boy again until two weeks ago when she saw the boy handcuffed to a doorknob. KMBZ reveals Anderson went to the home to tell the victim's older brother of a uniform change at the establishment where they both work when she saw the teen handcuffed.
* Anderson also said she received messages from the teen's biological family thanking her for making the phone call. The family alleges abuse has been ongoing for years, according to the AP story.
William Browning, a lifelong Missouri resident, writes about local and state issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Born in St. Louis, Browning earned his bachelor's degree in English from the University of Missouri. He currently resides in Branson.
