BUFFALO, New York (FP) After years of neighbor complaints about odd knocking sounds coming from a small shotgun house at the corner of Bailey and Delavan, police finally searched the abandoned property, finding a small wooden boy locked in a box in the attic.
According to authorities, the owner of the residence, Robert Smith, had apparently left the premises sometime in 1998 and left the boy locked in a box with little ventilation and no provisions. The red-haired, freckle-faced boy, identified only as Doody (pending contact with the family tree), spent hours telling police detectives of the years of being forced to perform for Smith and a clown called Clarabell.
Doody told police that “at first it was just for fun but, before I knew it, money had exchanged hands and I was forced to sign a contract.” The boy claimed to have been filmed and photographed repeatedly from 1947 until 1960, “when it all suddenly stopped”.
“After that,” said Doody, “I was ignored and stuffed in this rotten attic, cast off like an old pair of wheel chocks…it was very lonely…he just cut the strings and pretended I didn’t exist.”
Neighbors and local watchdog groups have complained to police about the lack of a thorough search over the decades, even though the knocking and occasional muffled singing could clearly be heard outside the house.
Although Smith could not be located, police managed to track down and arrest Clarabell later the same day. However, the clown refused to talk, only honking a small horn in response to interrogators.
While Doody appeared to be in amazingly good condition and always smiling, detectives did note an oddly excited reaction when one of the officers asked another, “What time is it?”
