Nancy Grace informs a dad on live TV that his missing son was in his basement

(Image credit: HLN)

last updated 8 January 2015

Charlie Bothuell IV's son had been missing for 11 days when the father went on HLN's Nancy Grace show Wednesday night. Grace informed him, on live TV, that the 12-year-old boy, also named Charlie, had been found alive in his basement. Always the prosecutor, Grace asked the stunned father if he'd, you know, searched the basement. "I checked my basement," he said. "The FBI checked my basement. The Detroit police checked my basement. My wife checked my basement. I've been down there several times. We've all been checking."

The interview makes for weird TV, and leaves lots of questions. Detroit Police Chief James Craig confirmed that his officer had searched the house four times, once with a dog. "We found him barricaded in the basement, behind boxes and a large five-gallon drum," Craig told WXYZ TV. "There's no way he could have erected this makeshift area of concealment." But at least we have one answer: Why did Bothuell get the news from Grace? His cellphone had died and was charging in his car, he said. That's something. --Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.