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CAS Lurking
February 6, 2012 permalink
A two-year-old boy found wandering in Wasaga Beach has been returned by police to his family. But Children's Aid was alerted. This sounds like what happened to Ayn Van Dyk in British Columbia. Child protectors picked her up four days after a similar incident and she has not been home since.
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Little boy found wandering
WASAGA BEACH -- Public works staff happened upon a two-year-old boy wandering the streets of Wasaga Beach, Friday morning.
Huronia West OPP was alerted shortly after 10 a.m. after two town employees found the boy by himself in the area of Highway 26 and 73rd Street.
"He had his boots on and had a coat on, but what we're figuring out now is if the young lad put them on himself," Const. Mark Kinney said. "We're not 100% clear on when the young lad had left the residence on 73rd Street."
Officers took custody of the boy, and after an extensive search, located the residence on 73rd Street where the youngster was staying with family members.
"He was happy, healthy and not cold, so I'm not speculating he was out for a long period of time," Kinney said. "I don't know where the young person wandered. All I know is that he started here and ended there, so it wasn't a huge distance."
According to police, the investigation revealed that the mother had left her son with family the previous night due to other commitments she had made. The boy managed to exit the family residence early Friday morning and started walking until members of the Wasaga Beach Public Works Department discovered him and stopped to help.
Most of the streets in Wasaga Beach do not include sidewalks.
"You've got a young individual at that age walking across and along a major highway. Number two, the young lad was happy and healthy, but unfortunately he'd go to anybody," Kinney said. "So there's the potential for abduction because of that."
The "happy and healthy" toddler was reunited with his mother, who is from Clearview Township.
The Children's Aid Society has also been asked to assist with the case, but Kinney said nothing suspicious has surfaced in the investigation.
Police remind all parents kids can and will do unexpected things, and it is a parent's duty to ensure their child's safety.
"If you look at the young person, look at the environment and you look at the other potentials out there, yeah there was a high potential (of injury or abduction)," Kinney said. "Fortunately, none of that affected our young person today."
Police haven't determined how the young boy got out of the residence.
Source: Barrie Examiner
