Toddler Found Wandering Alone On Detroit's East Side In Freezing Cold
DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit police say a toddler who was found wandering outside in the freezing cold early Thursday morning has been reunited with his mother.
The 3-year-old boy wandered into the Citgo gas station on West McNichols Road and Conner Street, near City Airport on the east side, around 4:45 a.m. dressed in a pajamas -- and temperatures were only around 20 degrees.
The clerk called police, who quickly arrived at the station. Officer Tinisha Alexander said the little boy seemed nervous, but was otherwise OK.
"He had on some pajamas, kids character pajamas and his socks. And he had a blanket," she said. "He wasn't cold, he just kept saying 'I was looking for my mommy.'"
Officer then took the boy through the neighborhood, trying to see if he could find his home. As the officers were driving, police say they found the boy's mother running down the street, screaming for her baby.
"She was hysterical and crying and scared but then happy that she seen him in the scout car with us," said Alexander.
As for how the child ended up outside, police say it was simply an accident. The boy's mother was apparently outside behind their apartment when he woke up and then walked out the front of the apartment.
"He was just looking for his mother," said Alexander. "He woke up and his mother wasn't there so he walked out to try to find her."
The child kept walking until he got to the gas station -- which is only about three lots away from his home.
Child Protective Services has been notified of the incident and is expected to conduct their own investigation.
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