Mom left toddler home alone to run errands — then he wandered off, Connecticut cops say
A mom left her toddler home alone with the doors unlocked to run errands — before he wandered off, police in Connecticut say.
The barefoot boy was found outside wet and sobbing around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 19, by a neighbor who called authorities, according to a news release from the Wolcott Police Department. The mom went to Petco, which was closed, before stopping at a gas station.
She was arrested after telling police she left her toddler “because he was fine watching (TV), and she had thought her husband was on the way home,” the release states.
However, her husband, “who immediately drove home” after being contacted by authorities, said “he was supposed to work all night,” according to Wolcott police.
Before the mom’s return home and her arrest, the neighbor discovered the lone toddler when she went outside to check on another neighbor’s barking dog, police say. Then, she saw the crying boy following the dog.
Police arrived and searched the home, which was occupied only by two dogs, and the mom eventually returned and asked why they were there, the release says.
She was held on a $1,500 bond and “was released after posting her bond,” according to police. She is charged with risk of injury to a minor.
Now, the Connecticut Department of Children and Families is investigating, the release says.
Wolcott is roughly 24 miles southwest of Hartford.
This story was originally published May 20, 2022 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Mom left toddler home alone to run errands — then he wandered off, Connecticut cops say."
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