Child found in store at 3 a.m. playing with toys

The Beaumont Police Department has found the parent of a four year old child who was discovered alone in a store in the middle of the night, playing with toys.

The child was taken to Beaumont Police headquarters after he was found at about 3 a.m. Monday in the Family Dollar Store, 5370 College in Beaumont, according to Officer Randy Stevens.

"You can tell the child has been well cared for," Officer Stevens told KFDM News.  "He was very talkative and was playing with the officers."

Police initially thought the child was two to three years old, but a spokeswoman for Child Protective Services tells KFDM News the child is four.

Authorities aren't releasing the child's name.

Officer Stevens tells KFDM News it appears the child unlocked the door of his home, which is only a few blocks from the store, and wandered away at about 3 a.m. Monday.  The child had to cross seven lanes on College Street, which is also Highway 90, to get to the store, according to Ofc. Stevens.  The highway can be extremely busy during the day.

Police say at about 11 a.m. Monday, detectives were again canvassing the surrounding area of the store and located the child's mother.  She had been searching for the child in the neighborhood. 

Child Protective Services allowed the family to voluntarily place the child, and a sibling, with family or friends while CPS investigates the circumstances of what happened, CPS spokeswoman Shari Pulliam told KFDM News.

Police say at 2:59 a.m. Monday, officers responded to an alarm at the Family Dollar Store, 5370 College Street. Officers arrived and began to check the building. They discovered that one of the two front doors was not secured. There was no sign of forced entry. Police went inside the store and found a young child playing with toys in the store.

Officers located a key holder, and the key holder was able to check the store video. It showed the child approaching the front doors at about 2:59 a.m.. The child tried one door that was locked. The child then went to the second door that apparently was left unsecured. The door opened and the child went inside.  

The child was wearing black shorts with red trim and a white ribbed tank top. 

Officer Crystal Holmes with the Beaumont Police Department tells KFDM News it's early in the investigation, but there's nothing to indicate the parents or family did anything wrong.

 "According to family members, the child was thought to be in the bed with grandma," said Ofc. Holmes.  "Grandma had gone to work before dawn and thought the child had moved to his mother's bed.  The dad had worked the late shift so the family slept in late.  When they woke up and discovered the child missing, they began the search."

She says the child was in excellent condition when police found him at the store and brought him back to their station in downtown Beaumont.

"He was having a great time and didn't know anything was wrong."

Holmes says this isn't the first time a child has unlocked a door and left home in the middle of the night.

"About 6 years ago a three year old boy in a diaper and shirt unlocked the door at about 4:30 a.m. and decided he needed french fries and was going to McDonald's."

Officer Holmes says parents can take precautions to try to prevent the same thing from happening in their home.

"A chain lock or slide bolt lock high on a door might not keep out the bad guys, but it will help prevent a child from getting out. A secondary lock on windows is also important."

Watch Live at 5 and KFDM News at 6 & 10 for more on the story.