On Tuesday, Ketchikan police officers did a welfare check at a Woodside Drive home after getting a tip that a little girl was allegedly restrained at night by her grandparents.
Deputy Chief Josh Dossett said officers arrived at the home and found the girl, approximately 5 years old, in what he described as an improvised cage.
“It was a large-size clothes hamper put on its side with a gate,” he said. “The gate was wire-tied to the front of the hamper.”
Dossett said officers found that the girl’s legs also were restrained, using tape and straps.
Police called the state Office of Children’s Services, and that agency sent case workers to remove the girl from the residence.
While there, police located what they say was a marijuana grow operation. Dossett said they obtained a warrant, and seized about 54 marijuana plants, plus processed marijuana.
“I don’t have the amount of just the processed,” he said. “The total on the marijuana on the plants and the (processed) I believe was about 3 pounds.”
Police charged 46-year-old Eric Riley and 52-year-old Penny Riley with fourth-degree misconduct of a controlled substance and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Dossett said information about the child’s restraint has been sent to the District Attorney’s office for review and possible additional charges.
