HispanicBusiness

Authorities in Texas say they are investigating whether they should charge a Galveston man who kept his son locked in a wooden box.

Police said they located a 9-year-old boy who had been reported missing July 22. He told them he had run away from home because he didn't want to be locked in his room, KPRC television in Houston reported.

When the boy was taken home, police said they found the boy lived in an 8-foot by 6-foot particle board box with two locks on the outside.

Inside were a small blanket, a pair of socks and a book, according to court documents.

The father, David Wieseckel, 42, told police he kept his son in the box so the child wouldn't damage the house.

"It was his bedroom. He had everything in there. He had blankets, a bed, and he damaged it all, wrecked it all," he told a reporter.

The child is now in state custody. A hearing on the child's status is scheduled for September.