Teenage son found locked in basement; father to be taken into custody (Mt. Vernon, Michigan)

UNNAMED DAD is suspected of locking his 14-year-old son in the basement of their home while he went to work. There is not one word about a mother in this article. Single dad?

http://register-news.com/homepage/x993483472/Boy-found-locked-in-basement

March 31, 2010

Boy found locked in basement
JCSO investigation underway
TESA CULLI
CNHI

MT. VERNON — The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a possible child abuse/neglect after a 14-year-old boy was discovered locked in the basement.

According to Sheriff Roger Mulch, the boy was discovered locked in the home by neighbors.

“The neighbors noticed the dog was loose,” said Jefferson County Sheriff Roger Mulch. “They went over to tell (the boy) the dog was out and heard (him) hollering and screaming, ‘help, help,’ and he was locked in. ... They tried to get the doors open, but couldn’t so they called us.”

Deputies were able to release the boy from the basement area of his home in rural Jefferson County, and he was taken to St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital for a physical evaluation.

The investigation is ongoing, and Mulch said a search warrant of the home has been acquired and investigators would be entering the house. The father of the boy was at work at the time of the incident, and Mulch said when he returned home he would be taken into custody and questioned pending any charges.