SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Police say it took four hours to reunite a toddler found alone in a Springfield park with her family. Many KY3 viewers asked why it took so long, but Springfield Police are not releasing any more details about the case.
Around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, a some kids playing at McGregor School Park found the little girl alone. They told their mother, who called police. Police say the girl, who appeared to be two or three years old, had a heavily soiled diaper. Police reunited the girl with her family around 9:30 p.m.
The Missouri Children’s Division took over the case. State officials won’t share anything about the circumstances either. Incidents like this usually happen with a parent working nights, sleeping during the day.
Colleen Lottie lives in the neighborhood. Her grandsons, Omari, 3 and Nameer, 1, keep her on her toes.
“I saw it on the news, and my heart just dropped,” said Lottie. “I said, oh my. It easily could have been us at any given time. I bet you the mother was freaking out. I know me, as a grandma and as a mother, I would have freaked out if I woke up and my child wasn’t around.”
Lottie says this kind of situation has her thinking more about child-proofing the outside doors, as even her younger grandson can unlock and open the door.
Cox Health Child Life coordinator Rana Post says devices like door knob covers that require a stronger grip can be helpful.
“But we know kids are so smart and they can figure out how to get around all those things,” Post says. “So what we can do is have lots of different types of locks. So some that are maybe a chain slide, some that have an alarm sound, some that are up high up above where they can reach.”
She says they’re tools that may give you more time to respond before a child is out the door. But you need to use them correctly and consistently. She says it’s also never too early to talk to your child about safety.
“Little kids, toddlers, even have better receptive language than they have verbal skills,” Post says. “So talking about that, you know, that’s a wait for Mom activity. That can’t be a by yourself activity.”
Of course, nothing beats close supervision, but Lottie will take all the help she can get.
“I do want something, like another lock up at the top,” Lottie says.
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