( CNN ) -- Neighbors expressed shock as details emerged Wednesday in the case of a 17-year-old Missouri boy found handcuffed to a stainless steel support pole in his family 's basement . He had been there since September , police say . Friends and neighbors said the Kansas City teen was mentally challenged , and they were heartbroken to see him taken by ambulance to a hospital . `` You give birth to this child and you are going to handcuff it and lock it and not feed it and not give him water ? How do you not take care of your child ? '' said Ashley Reppy , who lives close to the family and spoke to CNN affiliate KSHB Wednesday . In a police report released Wednesday , officers described the victim as dressed in dirty clothes and his `` face was sunken in on the sides and his eyes had a look of desperation . '' The teenager told police that he had been handcuffed in the basement since September , that he was unchained three times a day to go to the bathroom and that he was given only instant oatmeal , Ramen noodles and bologna sandwiches to eat . Reppy said she had often seen the victim sleeping on the front porch because his family would n't let him in the house . Her cousin reported the alleged abuse to a children 's division hot line of the Missouri Department of Social Services , she said . The victim 's older brother had told them that the victim had hit his mother and was `` on permanent house arrest , '' she said . `` We cried a lot yesterday because we 're friends with him , '' Reppy told CNN affiliate WDAF . `` You know , three and a half months seems kind of long for him to not be in school , '' Reppy told KSHB . `` His friends would come over and knock on the door , and ( the victim 's stepmother ) told them that he was out of town . '' Kansas City Police spokesman Officer Darrin Snapp told CNN Wednesday that he could not comment on the case because it is still under investigation . Jim Roberts of the Clay County Prosecuting Attorney 's Office said the victim 's parents have not been charged . A digital camera and numerous photographs discovered at the home were sent to the Kansas City Regional Crime Lab . The victim was taken to the North Kansas City Hospital for further treatment before he was placed in the custody of the Clay County Children 's Division , the police report said . A 2-year-old child also living at the residence was placed in state custody , authorities said . `` State law prohibits release of information specific to a case or individual , so I can not confirm nor deny involvement in a case , '' Rebecca Woelfel , the communications director for the Missouri Department of Social Services , said in an e-mail to CNN . CNN 's Michael Martinez contributed to this report .
The 17-year-old Kansas City boy was mentally challenged , neighbors say . A 13-year-old girl in the same neighborhood died after being shot by a stray bullet on July 4. The boy was handcuffed in the basement , freed for only three bathroom breaks a day . The boy was treated at a hospital and placed in county custody , authorities say .