An Ohio father and son were arrested Wednesday night for allegedly shackling a 13-year-old girl in their Toledo basement for more than a year.
Court documents said the girl told police she was kept in the dark, handcuffed to a support beam by her ankle, fed spoiled scraps of food, and forced to use a bucket filled with ammonia as her bathroom.
Her stepbrother, Esten Ciboro, 27, and stepfather, Timothy Ciboro, 53, are being held on $500,000 bond each in the case. The girl was not identified.
It was unclear how long the girl had been allegedly kept in the basement, but police believe the abuse may have began after her mom moved out of the house.
"She thinks that her mom may have left in 2012, but she's not really sure," Toledo Police Capt. Ron Frederick told NBC News. "We haven't confirmed that yet."
Toledo Lt. Joe Heffernan told NBC affiliate WNWO the girl escaped after managing to secure a key to the handcuffs, which she kept hidden until the suspects went out for a jog. She bolted just after 9 p.m. Wednesday.
A Good Samaritan spotted her outside. After first calling Timothy Ciboro, who hung up on him, he then called police, authorities said.
"She is saying ... her dad had chained her down in the basement with cuffs on her ankles," the caller said, according to 911 audio published on WNWO. "She was telling me she had been abused."
He added that she "wanted something to eat" and had grabbed some spare change and clothing before escaping.
When police arrived at the address she had given, Esten and Timothy Ciboro were loading Timothy's two younger children into a van, which they had packed with possessions, and were carrying a lockbox with a gun, authorities said, according to WNWO. The kids, a boy and a girl, were handed over to Lucas County Children Services.
Handcuffs and a bucket of ammonia were discovered in the basement, Frederick told NBC News.
The Ciboros were arraigned Thursday on charges of endangering children, torture, cruelty, abuse, and kidnapping to terrorize or inflict serious physical harm.
"It makes you disgusted that somebody would do that to a young child, treat them that way," Heffernan said.
A neighbor, Travis Bell, told the station he hadn't seen the girl and said the Ciboros kept to themselves.
"They didn't want to talk at all," he said. "If I knew, I swear I would have kicked that door in."
Robin Reese, executive director of Lucas County Children Services, told reporters all three children from the home are in relatively good physical condition, but Frederick said the girl is "pretty traumatized." Authorities don't believe the other two kids were abused or neglected.
The children are all being placed in foster care now, she added.
