DeSpain said a passerby notified McFarland police after seeing the girl walking barefoot and wearing only pajamas a few blocks from her home on Feb. 6. Paramedics were called to evaluate the girl, who was taken to a Madison hospital.

According to the affidavit, the girl told authorities she fled the residence because she was afraid "Melinda was going to throw me down the stairs." She said she had been let out of the basement to "clean some papers" for Drabek-Chritton, who became angry because she wasn't doing it fast enough and threatened to throw her down the stairs.

DeSpain said the girl's father initially gave police medical explanations for her condition, but a hospital social worker told police there was likely much more to the case.

DeSpain said the girl was forced to spend most of her time in the basement without a bathroom and was given little to eat, and an alarm would sound if she went upstairs.

According to the affidavit, Drabek-Chritton was home-schooling the girl.

Police searched the home Monday and seized potential evidence, DeSpain said.

Drabek-Chritton has owned the home in the Twin Oaks neighborhood near McFarland since 2005, purchasing it from Habitat for Humanity.