A 9-year-old boy continues to recover in a hospital from a series of cuts and scratches found all over his body. 

The boy was also severely malnourished and weighed just 35 pounds when he was taken to the hospital Saturday night. 

Neighbors found the child naked and wandering alone in a roadway near his North Miami Beach home in the 1400 block of Northeast 152nd Street. 

Local 10 has since learned a teacher at Greynolds Park Elementary School first raised a red flag about the boy Dec. 6 by calling the Florida Abuse Registry. 

"The call was prompted over concerns of the child's welfare," said Miami-Dade Public Schools spokesman John Schuster. "Employees are required to report known cases of child abuse, neglect or abandonment, and in this particular case, school district staff complied with our reporting guidelines and contacted authorities." 

In a juvenile court hearing Monday to determine custodial rights of the boy and his siblings, it was revealed that staff at the boy's school became increasingly concerned over his uncontrollable behavior and a spate of absences from class. The 9-year-old has missed 36 days of school from this school year alone. 

The Department of Children and Families sent a private investigator to the child's home on Dec. 11, but no abuse allegations were ever launched, said a DCF representative.

The investigator was responding to a request for a parent in need of assistance.

A therapist and a psychologist were ultimately assigned to the boy, who has a mental health disorder. 

"How can we have been blind to this child's abuse?" said Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Cindy Lederman, who was responding to a DCF worker's claim that no one noticed anything unusual during the visit. 

"This doesn't happen in a month," said Lederman, referring to photos of the boy's physical condition. 

In a statement to Local 10, the Department of Children and Families said: 

"Our DCF investigation into the case is in the preliminary stages. In each investigation that we do, we need the Medical Examination Report from the Child Protection Team to establish if there was abuse or neglect. It would be imprudent on our part to rush to judgments without having all of the facts. In this case and in every case, our priority and focus is the safety and well-being of the children." 

Edward Bernard Bailey and Marsee Strong, the boy's parents, remain in a Miami-Dade County jail, charged with child abuse and neglect. 

The couple's five other children showed no signs of abuse. An uncle is trying to gain temporary custody of all of the children. Family members claim the boy had a history of eating too much, but when he recently switched to a new anti-psychotic medication, he lost his appetite and refused to eat. 

Another court hearing has been set for Feb. 8.