A 14-year-old US girl who was subjected to regular beatings by her father escaped her home in Phoenix by crawling through the attic after being locked in a bathroom for two months.
The girl was only fed once every day or two, police said.
She was held in the bathroom without running water for two months, forced to use a bucket instead of a toilet, and her bed was a blanket on the tile floor, police said. She told police her father beat her with metal rods and belts.
The girl's father and stepmother, named by police as Scott and Andrea Bass, were arrested last Thursday on suspicion of child abuse, kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.
"No one on this earth needs to be treated the way this child was treated," Phoenix police officer Luis Samudio said.
The girl's mother, Andrea Bass (31), was released from custody on Tuesday after posting a $36,000 bond. Scott Bass (33) remains jailed on a $45,000 bond.
Mr Samudio said when police arrived at the girl's home, Scott Bass thought the girl was still in the bathroom and was "visibly surprised" when he unlocked the door and she was gone.
The girl had escaped through the attic and rode her bike to a nearby cinema, where a concerned couple gave her $50, police said. She then rode about 13 miles to a Phoenix strip mall and bought water, food, a backpack and clothes because she hadn't been allowed to change for weeks, Officer Samudio said.
After that, the girl rode to a coffee shop in nearby Scottsdale, where she asked an employee to call police.
Police found a five-gallon bucket containing human waste and a blanket on the floor that served as the girl's bed in the bathroom.
Scott Bass told investigators he locked his daughter in the bathroom because she stole food from the kitchen and cheated on a home-school test, according to the document. The document said the girl's stepmother told investigators she didn't know that the girl was locked in the bathroom.
The girl told police her father gave her cans of food, crackers or bread every one to two days, but that she was constantly hungry. The girl said her father forced her to exercise until she was exhausted and if she stopped, he beat her with belts and metal rods or pulled her up by her hair.
The girl also told police that in a previous home, her father and stepmother forced her to sleep on an outdoor patio for five months, locked her in a closet for a week, and locked her in a bathroom for a week.
The girl, who was evaluated and released from a hospital, is in the custody of Child Protective Services. Four other children living in the Bass home, who police said showed no signs of abuse or similar treatment, are also in CPS custody.
Mr Samudio said the girl and her 12-year-old brother were from Scott Bass's previous marriage, and that three girls - ages three, four and 11 - were Scott and Andrea Bass's children.
AP