Argentine girl, 15, weighing THREE STONE rescued from garage where she was locked up FOR 12 YEARS with a monkey and a dog

  • Teenager weighed barely over three stone when she was found
  • Older sister alerted police after finding house where her sibling was kept
  • She is recovering in intensive care in hospital in Buenos Aires
  • Believed to have been given away as mother who was too poor to keep her
  • Carers were reported to be devotees of Saint Death, a skeletal folk saint

Police in Argentina have rescued a 15-year-old girl from a garage where she had allegedly been locked up with a monkey and a dog from the age of three.

The teenager, who was said to have been fed the same as the animals by her captors, weighed just 3st 1lb when she was found.

Last night the unnamed youngster was in intensive care in hospital in Buenos Aires. Her carers, who were trying to adopt her, were being held in jail.

Safe: The 15-year-old girl is now in intensive care in hospital in Buenos Aires after being discovered locked up with a monkey and a dog weighing just weighted just two stone 3lbs (file picture)

Safe: The 15-year-old girl is now in intensive care in hospital in Buenos Aires after being discovered locked up with a monkey and a dog weighing just weighted just two stone 3lbs (file picture)

They were reported to be devotees of Saint Death, a skeletal folk saint venerated in Paraguay, north east Argentina and southern Brazil.

The devotion, attacked by some quarters of the Catholic Church, involves prayers, rituals and offerings.

The teenager is said to have been given away by her poverty-stricken mum, who has six other children, because she was unable to look after her properly.

An older sister alerted police after turning 18 and finding the house where she believed her sibling was kept.

She is understood to have told her rescuers she was only allowed out of the garage twice in the last 12 years and was beaten regularly with a belt by her captors.