All of Detroit was looking for a little boy who went missing on June 14,2014. Police and community resources were mobilized to find Charlie Bothuell V, age 12, and law enforcement was concerned that foul play was involved with his disappearance. The father was given a polygraph test and passed but the stepmother refused to take the test.
Police detectives then decided to serve a search warrant on the family’s home, and it was then that the officers were shocked to find Charlie in the basement of the house. The little boy was alive, but according to police Chief James Craig, was in a part of the basement that had been blocked off.
During a live interview on HLN’s “Nancy Grace” show, Charlie Bothuell IV was told that his son was found alive and in his basement, the father was visibly shocked and could only respond “What?” to Grace.
When Grace asked him if he’d checked his basement, the father replied, “I checked my basement, the FBI checked my basement, the Detroit police checked my basement, my wife checked my basement, and I’ve been down there several times.”
Bothuell then took off his microphone exclaiming “My son” and the interview terminated.
Detroit Police confirmed that they searched the basement four times, including bringing in a cadaver dog. According to Chief Craig, Charlie was found barricaded behind a large 5-gallon drum. Craig stated that “there was no way he [Charlie] could have made this place of concealment. It would be hard for me to sit here and tell you that someone didn’t know Charlie was there.”
As Craig was finishing his statement the boy’s father arrived from the “Nancy Grace” show and vehemently denied knowing anything about his son being in the basement for more than a week. He then broke down in tears, saying, “Man, I thought my son was dead.”
The police are still investigating the incident, but there has been no word on whether anyone will face charges.
