Emaciated teenager living in a barn was "in a week of death," say authorities

An emaciated teenager from Oklahoma reportedly was "in the week of his death" on Thursday when the cops found him alive in his well-fed family's barn – where he says he survived a diet sticks, leaves and grass for nearly two

Four members of the teenage family are now behind bars, on charges of child neglect, reported by FOX 25.

The 15-year-old boy weighed 80 pounds when authorities found him last Thursday in the barn. with goats, rabbits and chickens following a tip from a worried passerby, the Oklahoman reported.

"We are incredibly grateful that someone called … They literally saved this child's life," said Adam Panter, Pottawatomie / Lincoln County District First Assistant, Shawnee News- Star. "He could have died and been buried on this property and no one would have ever known."

"We are incredibly grateful that someone has called. … they literally saved this child's life. He could have died and be buried on this property and no one would have known it. "

– Adam Panter, First Assistant, Pottawatomie / Lincoln County District

The boy's father, stepmother and two older brothers were arrested

The arrested were identified as Jimmy Jones Sr. , 34, Amy Jones, 46, Johnathan Plank, 20, and Tyler Adkins, 24, reported FOX 25.

"He was malnourished and had suffered abuse," said Panter. Oklahoman about the teenager. "The doctors said that he was in the week of death."

The boy told the authorities that his father had shot him in a 12 years ago, according to the newspaper, he also had a head wound, which was infected by maggots, he told the authorities.

The father of the boy unearthed the maggots and used glue to close the wound.The boy said that he had not been allowed to leave the pr operated for about two years

Authorities said that despite the boy's underweight, the rest of the family seemed well nourished

. He could not sleep in the house and could only enter the house to go to the bathroom, the newspaper reports, citing an affidavit.

The boy was taken to a hospital where he was in fair condition. The boy's mother-in-law told the investigators that she was not aware of the extent of her son's malnutrition, but acknowledged that he should have received medical attention, according to the newspaper. The investigators also found some evidence of insurance, despite the woman's claim that they did not have any.

A spokesman for the State Department of Human Services declined to comment on the case.