2 charged after sheriff says North Carolina baby was kept in cage

MARS HILL, North Carolina (WTVD) -- Madison County Sheriff Buddy Harwood says two people are in custody after an infant was found in a cage.

It happened in Mars Hill, North Carolina - close to Asheville.

Sheriff Harwood said deputies and the Madison County Department of Social Services went to a home after getting a child neglect complaint.

Deputies found the infant in a homemade cage upstairs.

The baby was immediately taken for medical treatment. Deputies said the infant was kept in the cage for 23 hours or more daily and only given minimal amounts food.

Twenty-three-year-old Haley Jo Trantham and 28-year-old Vincent Odell Lee II were arrested and both charged with two counts of child abuse. Haley was also charged with possession of marijuana. Both are currently in the Madison County Detention Facility.