Boy and parents reunited: miscommunication
Published: October 9, 2005
A series of miscommunications that resulted in a 3-year-old boy spending several hours at the police station had a happy ending late Thursday night.
The Utah County boy was claimed by worried parents just before 11 p.m. Thursday, almost four hours after Provo Towne Centre security called the Provo Police Department to report the found child.
Officer Dave Moore said the lost-and-found child had fallen asleep in the back seat of his family’s quad cab truck on the way home, and his mother allowed him to stay there when they got home. Later in the day when she went to look for him, another child told her the 3-year-old was playing in the back yard.
“That alleviated Mom’s concern at the time, and so an hour later she was looking for the child again, and the 11-year-old kinda ‘fesses up and says, ‘You know, I lied. He wasn’t in the back yard,’” Moore said.
Her adult daughters asked to take the truck to run several errands in Provo and Orem, and believing her 3-year-old son had gotten out, she consented. When she realized he was not in the back yard, she assumed he was with her two daughters, but was not able to contact them to find out for sure.
When they got to the mall the two women went inside, not realizing the child was still asleep in the back.
After they got out, the boy woke up and exited the vehicle. The women left the mall and went several other places before returning home. At about 7 p.m., mall security discovered the boy outside the J.C. Penney store, attempted to locate his family and then called the police.
The family realized where he was after a family friend called, having seen the child on a local news broadcast, Moore said. They immediately called police and arrived at the station about 10:45 p.m., where they provided identification and told police what had happened.
“The parents came across as very responsible,” he said, adding the story was verified and police had no reason to doubt it. “They were very upset.
“They were very concerned that the series of events had occurred.”
No charges will be filed, but Moore said adults should not leave children in the car for any length of time.
“She felt like the child was safe in the car in the garage,” he said. “It’s dangerous to leave kids in cars under any circumstances.”
The boy spent several hours at the police station before being taken to a Utah Division of Child and Family Services home.
He was well taken care of, friendly and pleasant, Moore said.
“He had a PB&J and went right to sleep,” he said.
To avoid similar situations:
Immediately go back to the area where the child was last seen.
Designate a meeting place beforehand.
Teach children to stay where they are if they get separated from the group.
Check a vehicle before leaving.
Encourage older children to be responsible about younger siblings.
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