Couple arrested after emaciated teen with chain on ankle shows up at Tracy gym

TRACY — Police detained a Tracy couple Monday afternoon in connection with a case involving a 16-year-old boy who — wearing only a pair of baggy boxers and carrying a heavy chain padlocked to his ankle — stumbled into a local gym asking employees to hide him.

The teen was reported missing from a Sacramento foster home in 2007. He was apparently picked up by the Tracy couple, whose names weren't immediately released, witnesses said.

When he wandered into the In-Shape City Sports Club, 101 S. Tracy Blvd., around 3:30 p.m. Monday, the teen was wearing only flesh-colored boxers. He had visible cuts and burns on his back and was described as being emaciated and covered in soot, dried blood, feces and urine, police said. He was taken to Sutter Tracy Community Hospital and was expected to be transferred to Children's Hospital Oakland, authorities said.

He immediately began begging Assistant Manager Lea Leonardo to hide him and said people were going to catch him. She sensed the urgency and immediately dialed 911 as the boy curled into a fetal position on the floor underneath the counter.

"I thought it was a prank costume," Leonardo said. "He was so dirty and had the chain around his foot. His feet were swollen, he was terrified and cold. He kept saying, 'They're going to come find me.' He kept saying that over and over."

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