Missing Girl, Dad Found Inside Barricaded Building With No Toilet, Food Or Water

A month after she went missing, a 6-year-old girl was found living with her father inside a barricaded outbuilding in Tennessee. Police said the building had no ventilation or air-conditioning and the duo was using buckets to relieve themselves.

A bloodhound, which was assisting the search team, led the officials to the building where 34-year-old Nicholas Reeder and daughter Kinzleigh were found Friday night, a statement from DeKalb County Sheriff said.

"The Rutherford County Sheriff's Department was contacted to assist in the search with a bloodhound named Fred. The bloodhound was able to locate a scent that led to an outbuilding located on the property belonging to Nicholas Reeder," said DeKalb County Sheriff Patrick Ray.

When officers made a forcible entry into the building, they found the doors were barricaded and the windows covered with metal. There was no air conditioning inside. The entire building reeked of human waste as the duo had been urinating and defecating in a five-gallon bucket.

The girl and her father were living with little food and water, the sheriff said.

Reeder was arrested and charged with child abuse and neglect, failure to appear and custodial interference. Kinzleigh was released into the custody of the Tennessee Department of Children's Services (DCS).

The sheriff's deputies started a search on June 21 after officers with the state agency reported that they couldn't contact the child.

"Throughout the investigation, there have been airplanes equipped with thermal imaging and drones used in the Pea Ridge Community," the statement read.

Reeder and his daughter were last seen on May 26, WBRY reported. Reeder did not have custody of Kinzleigh at the time.

He had earlier been charged with child abuse and neglect after authorities found the duo camped out under a bridge in rising creek water on a cold rainy night on May 18. Authorities said Reeder had driven his Nissan Rogue off the road into the creek bed. However, the vehicle got stuck there during heavy rain and creek flooding. Reeder lost the custody of the child to DCS after the incident.

The child had since been living with a family member as stipulated by the DCS. After his release from jail, Reeder was allowed to stay in the same home where Kenzleigh was staying.

No details about the child's mother were revealed.