Tracy teen found with chain padlocked to foot says he escaped torture

Tracy teen found with chain padlocked to foot says he escaped torture Some reports say boy in critical condition.

By Mike Martinez
San Joaquin Herald
Posted: 12/01/2008 09:28:16 PM PST


TRACY — Police detained a Tracy couple Monday afternoon in connection with a case involving a teen boy who — wearing only a pair of baggy boxers and carrying a heavy chain padlocked to his ankle — stumbled into a local gym asking employees to hide him.

The teen, whose name hasn't been released, was reported missing from a Sacramento foster home in 2007. He was apparently picked up by the Tracy couple, whose names haven't been released, witnesses said.

When he wandered into the In-Shape City Sports Club, 101 S. Tracy Blvd., around 3:30 p.m. Monday, he was wearing only flesh-colored boxers. He had visible cuts and burns on his back and was described as being emaciated and covered in soot, dried blood, feces and urine, police said. He was taken to Sutter Tracy Community Hospital and was expected to be transferred to Children's Hospital Oakland, authorities said. According to some news reports, he was in critical condition.

He immediately began begging Assistant Manager Lea Leonardo to hide him and said people were going to catch him. She sensed the urgency and immediately dialed 911 as the boy curled into a fetal position on the floor underneath the counter.

"I thought it was a prank costume," Leonardo said. "He was so dirty and had the chain around his foot. His feet were swollen, he was terrified and cold. He kept saying, 'They're going to come find me.' He kept saying that over and over."

Employees wrapped the
boy in towels as they led him to the manager's office, where they gave him some food and a bottle of water, which he guzzled.

Chuck Ellis, club manager, said the chain was about an inch thick and was padlocked around the boy's left ankle. It appeared to have been cut.

"He was saying he was in a foster home and ran away because he wanted to be with his family," Ellis said. "He was apparently picked up by these people, who had him over a year."

"He didn't know where he was, but he knew his name and his birthday," Leonardo said. He is believed to be 16 or 17 years old.

A member of the club told employees the boy was seen jumping over the fence of a house on Tennis Lane into the parking lot before he walked inside the nearby fitness center.

Police sealed off a residence in the 600 block of Tennis Lane, where they detained a woman. They then questioned a man who arrived at about 6 p.m. Both were led away in handcuffs about 45 minutes later. They had not been arrested as of later Monday evening.

"Our first priority was the well-being of the boy," Tracy police Capt. John Espinoza said. "The circumstances described to us by the juvenile are unbelievable. We're looking over the entire crime scene, looking for evidence that supports the boy's story and gets us a successful prosecution. We're also concerned about the welfare of the other children in the home. We've never seen a case like this before in Tracy."

A neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said he thought the boy was a member of the family and would see him playing with the other children who live in the house. He said they had limited contact with the couple — which he said kept to themselves and would only say "hello" and "goodbye."

He said they had lived in the rented house for about a year.

"They appeared to be a normal family," the neighbor said. "We don't even know their last name. (The boy) wouldn't be allowed to talk to us when we'd see him outside or ask him questions."

A representative from San Joaquin County's Child Protective Services arrived to take the remaining children, of which there are four or more, into protective custody.

Last week, Tracy was named the second-safest city in Northern California and the 46th-safest city in the nation, according to a report compiled by reference book publisher CQ Press