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Detroit boy missing for 11 days found alive in parents' basement

DETROIT — A Michigan boy who had been missing for 11 days was found alive Wednesday in his parents' basement.

According to The Associated Press, officers found 12-year-old Charlie Bothuell V while searching the Detroit home as part of the investigation. The boy was crouching behind boxes and a plastic container, with food and bedding nearby.

Charlie, who lives with his father and stepmother, went missing June 14, the Detroit Free Press reported. Police said they searched the home several times – even with cadaver dogs.

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“In 37 years of policing, I will tell you, I’ve never seen anything quite like this,” Detroit Police Chief James Craig told the Free Press. “But the outcome, I couldn’t be happier.”

Police said the boy will receive a medical evaluation.

Charlie's father, Charlie Bothuell IV, was on live TV with HLN's Nancy Grace when he learned that his son had been found. He seemed shocked.

“For anybody to imply that I somehow knew that my son was in the basement, it’s absurd and it’s wrong,” Bothuell said later at the scene. “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.”

Bothuell agreed to a FBI-administered polygraph test but his wife declined, police said.