Ketchikan police say they arrested a man and woman on charges stemming from a marijuana grow Tuesday after finding cannabis plants at the couple's apartment and their 5-year-old granddaughter in an "improvised cage."
Around 12:15 a.m., police arrived at the couple's home in the Woodside Drive area. The girl's mother had asked police to conduct a welfare check at her in-laws' apartment. Police heard reports that the girl was being restrained at night, according to Josh Dossett, deputy chief of the Ketchikan Police Department.
Police identified the grandparents as 46-year-old Eric Riley and 52-year-old Penny Riley.
Dossett said police found the girl in the couple's bedroom inside a large, cloth clothing hamper turned on its side. A wooden gate was secured with zip ties to the open side of the hamper. Inside, the girl's legs were individually bound, Dossett said.
Police called the state Office of Children's Services, which took custody of the girl, Dossett said. Officers returned to the apartment with a search warrant and seized 54 cannabis plants and processed marijuana, according to a press release sent Friday by the police department.
The Rileys were each charged with two counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for the marijuana grow.
Dossett said Friday that information on the case of the couple's granddaughter had been forwarded to the district attorney's office in Ketchikan, where further charges may be determined.
By Friday afternoon, neither Riley was in custody. According to court records, both had posted bail.