DETROIT — A 12-year-old Detroit boy who was missing for more than a week before he was discovered in his own basement told investigators his stepmother sent him there, according to a court record obtained Friday by a newspaper. The petition, filed in Wayne County juvenile court by Children’s Protective Services as part of a custody hearing, was obtained by the Detroit Free Press. A court employee told The Associated Press a petition was filed Friday, but it was not released to the public or the media.

According to the Free Press, the document says Charlie Bothuell V was placed in the basement behind boxes and totes by his stepmother, Monique Dillard-Bothuell, and told “not to come out, no matter what he hears.”

Although Dillard-Bothuell knew her stepson was in the basement, she did not bring him food, according to the petition, which also says: “Charlie reports sneaking upstairs to get food when everyone left the home.”

Charlie was found Wednesday by Detroit police in the bowels of the multiple-unit condo building where he lived with Dillard-Bothuell and his father, Charlie Bothuell IV.

Authorities removed the boy’s two younger siblings – 4 years old and 10 months old – from the custody of Dillard-Bothuell and Charlie Bothuell IV.Officers searched the home on at least three occasions before they stumbled across the boy apparently hiding behind boxes and a large plastic drum in the basement Wednesday. Police have said they do not believe the boy had been there the whole time.