A 29-year-old mother was in custody after police in Kansas City, Mo., found her emaciated 10-year-old daughter locked in a closet, authorities said.

The woman was arrested Friday and her boyfriend also was detained, The Kansas City Star reported.

The girl, who was found alone in a closet that smelled of human waste, appeared to way about a third of what a normal 10-year-old would weight, police said. She was taken to a hospital for a health assessment, the newspaper said.

"I don't know if there was food inside. I just know that it was a mess and this poor girl had been spending a large amount of time in there," police Capt. Steve Young said.

Investigators took the woman's two other children into protective custody, the Star said.