Father, stepmother could face charges after missing boy found alive in basement Posted: Wednesday, June 25, 2014 10:19 PM EDT Updated: Thursday, June 26, 2014 2:30 PM EDT Posted:Updated: 
 
 Charlie Bothuell IV was overcome with emotion after learning his 12-year-old son who had been missing for nearly two weeks had been found alive in the basement of their own Detroit townhouse. 
 
 
 
 "I didn't know that he was in the basement. I searched. My wife searched. We've had dozens of police officers, FBI agents were here, dogs. We've all been searching for my son," he says. 
 
 
 
 It was the fifth time police had been to the family's town house on Nicolet Place but this time investigators noticed something different in the basement outside a door that is connected to an underground tunnel - a barricade, and behind that, some food, a place to sleep and 12-year-old Charlie crouched down behind a barrel. 
 
 
 
 "There's no way he could have erected this make-shift area of concealment, I'll call it. He certainly was excited to see us. I had a chance to actually talk and embrace Charlie," says Detroit Police Chief James Craig. 
 
 
 
 In the basement where Charlie was found, a tunnel leads from apartment to apartment and to the outside. The boy likely could have come and gone whenever he needed to. 
 
 
 
 According to sources, Charlie told investigators it was his stepmother, Monique, who was helping him hide out and giving him food. 
 
 
 
 "My client, Mr. Bothuell and his wife, had no participation in this. They would have not brought this entire media circus, ... FBI, all of this - for what purpose? For what gain?" says family attorney Mark Magidson. 
 
 
 
 Charlie V was last seen June 14. His stepmother told police the boy didn't complete his daily exercise routine and she informed his father. Worried how his father would react, Charlie took off and never came back. 
 
 
 
 There was several searches for the boy, but there may be a reason Charlie did not want to be found. Police are investigating a serious case of child abuse we're told the father considered discipline. 
 
 
 
 The boy, who was home schooled and on a strict exercise routine, was often beat with a PVC pipe that has now been taken in as evidence. 
 
 
 
 In fact, sources say blood was found in the boy's room and on some of his clothes. That's why police widened the scope of the investigation and, at first, wouldn't rule homicide out. 
 
 
 
 His father admits to discipline but maintains his son was never abused. 
 
 
 
 "It's only evidence if there was some crime committed. No crime committed here. That's not what happened," the father says. 
 
 
 
 Fox 2 has learned the father is expected to face child abuse charges in the next couple of days. Fox 2's Taryn Asher reports a warrant will be handed over to the prosecutor. Charlie's stepmother could also face a few charges. 
 
 
 
 Meanwhile, 12-year-old Charlie was treated at Children's Hospital and released. He is said to be in good physical health. He spent the night in the hospital with his biological mother. 
 
 
 
 ||||| DETROIT (WXYZ) - Detroit Police say they have taken Charlie Bothuell's stepmother, Monique Dillard-Bothuell, into custody. We're told there was a bench warrant out for the 37-year-old's arrest for violating her probation. 
 
 Earlier this year, Dillard-Bothuell plead guilty to purchasing a pistol without a permit and was put on a 2-year probation period. 
 
 Police also confirm that Child Protective Services has removed two other children, a 4-year-old and a 10-month-old, from the home. 
 
 A day after 12-year-old Charlie Bothuell V was found alive in the basement of his father's Detroit home, new details are emerging about his strange 10-day disappearance. 
 
 Police say Charlie was home schooled and subjected to an exercise regime, though further details were not provided. 
 
 Bothuell was discovered hiding behind a 55-gallon drum while officers were executing their fourth search warrant on the Nicolet Place home Wednesday afternoon. 
 
 We're told a PVC pipe with blood on it was taken away from the home as evidence. 
 
 Charlie was released from the hospital Thursday morning and is now with his mother where he has been interviewed by the FBI and other investigators. 
 
 Action News has also learned of a new twist in the case. The uncle of Monique Charlie's stepmother has a listed address three doors away from where the search had been going on. 
 
 That home is the end unit of the same condominium building. The units are connected by an underground hallway. 
 
 Charlie's stepmother's uncle is Detroit attorney Godfrey Dillard. Action News reached him on the phone to ask about the case and Monique, and he refused to comment. 
 
 Godfrey Dillard recently announced his run for Michigan Attorney General. 
 
 It’s unclear if police are investigating a connection to Godfrey Dillard’s listed address. 
 
 When his son was found Wednesday, Charlie's father, Charlie Bothuell IV, spoke out emotionally and said he was hoping to be reunited with his son. That has not yet happened.
– The Detroit father whose missing son was found behind a barricade in his own basement could face charges, police say, but it's not clear whether they will be related to the 11-day disappearance of 12-year-old Charlie Bothuell. Sources tell Fox that the boy was home-schooled under a strict regimen that included beatings with a PVC pipe, and investigators have removed evidence including bloodied clothing from the home. Investigators say the boy didn't appear to be captive behind the barricade, but they don't believe he could have erected it himself. Police didn't find him on four previous searches of the home and it's not clear if he was in the basement during those visits. His father—who was being interviewed by Nancy Grace when he was informed his son had been found—says he had no idea that Charlie was in the basement. Sources say the boy has told investigators that it was his stepmother, Monica Bothuell, who helped him hide out in the basement—and in another twist, she was arrested yesterday on an unrelated weapons charge, CNN reports. Two other children, a 4-year-old and a 10-month-old, have been removed from the home, and Charlie has been released to his mother's custody. WXYZ has uncovered another twist: The basement unit where Charlie was found is connected by an underground hallway to the home of his stepmother's uncle: Detroit attorney Godfrey Dillard, who recently announced a run for Michigan Attorney General.