The search for a missing 9-year-old boy took a shocking turn when detectives discovered he was trying to escape living conditions similar to those of solitary confinement, according to the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office.

The young boy had been sealed in a room, denied access to food and a restroom, and monitored with a surveillance camera, the sheriff’s office said in a May 2 news release.

Two guardians — one of them the boy’s grandfather — have been arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse in the case, officials said.

The discovery was made April 14 when the sheriff’s office learned the boy had run away from home in Avon Park, about 65 miles south of Orlando.

“His disappearance sparked a massive search operation, which included dozens of deputies as well as officers from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission,” officials said. “The boy was later found hiding under a car in his neighbor’s yard.”

Detectives searching the home reported discovering evidence of abuse by the boy’s grandfather, 54-year-old Jack Percy Young.

“The boy’s room was filthy and had an ‘overwhelming’ smell of urine. The room, which was an addition to the home that was built out of plywood, had holes in the wall large enough to allow insects and rodents to enter,” officials said.

“The bed had just an egg crate-style piece of thin foam with no pillows or blankets and there were no toys or personal items of any kind in the room. The door to the room was a piece of plywood that was impossible for the boy to move when it was blocking the door.”

A detective learned two other children were also living in the home, according to officials, and they corroborated the boy’s account of being sealed in with a piece of plywood screwed over the doorway.

Investigators did not release details of how long he was imprisoned, but said the periods “were so long he was forced to soil himself since he could not get to the bathroom.”

“He was only allowed to take a shower once a week. A security camera was installed in the room and the boy said he had to yell at the camera to ask to be let out of the room, often getting no response,” officials said.

“The boy also said he would at times be denied food as a punishment, in addition to his grandfather physically abusing him.”

Bond was set at $50,000 for Young and his girlfriend, 34-year-old Ashlee Nicole Marshall, officials said.

The 9-year-old boy and other children were “removed from the home by the Department of Children and Families,” officials said.

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