No criminal charges will be filed against the parents of a 4-year-old boy found in the Clipper Cove apartment complex this morning.
The investigation has determined that this was accidental. The family moved into the apartment on Southern Cross Lane yesterday. They went to sleep, and it appears that the child woke up, was confused about where he was, and wandered outside.
He was discovered around 2:30 a.m., by someone who saw him standing outside the building.
Officers knocked on the front door of every apartment in Clipper Cove but were unsuccessful in locating the child’s parents.
The child’s grandmother called 911 after seeing his photograph on the news. A teacher also recognized the child she saw on the TV and called his mother.
Family members came to the police department, where they were reunited with the child. Officers then brought him back to his home.
The investigation did not find any signs of neglect in the home. The Department of Children and Families was notified per protocol.
We would like to thank the media for getting this information on air and online so quickly because it played a pivotal role in reuniting this child with his parents. We would also like to use this opportunity to encourage parents to put a chain lock at the top of the front door to prevent a young child from going outside in the middle of the night.