Parents Arrested After Child Found Abandoned Outside Disney Ride

[TinkerbellMama]

The parents are clearly lying. Poor little girl! I can't imagine how neglectful they are in their daily lives, if they'd abandon her publicly like that and leave her to die. There is no way on earth they'd have been arrested if it were a simple missing child situation. Trust me when I say that no one involved (professionals) believed their story. You simply don't punish parents for an obvious, honest mistake that scares them half to death. I'm sure there was plenty of evidence they had NOT been looking for her and in fact had left her intentionally all that time. Otherwise, I agree with a PP that we'd never have heard of this incident.

The really stupid part of all this is that I've taken my sleeping toddler on PLENTY of slow rides such as POTC. They could've very easily taken her along even if she was napping.

 

[Kath2003]

Difference between CHILD wandering off - which does happen, even to the best of parents; and CHILD being in a fixed location and parents "forgetting" about him/her. An hour - SERIOUSLY? I wouldn't leave a dog out in the heat for half that time

 

[mrsltg]

These people should be shot. No, it's not PC to say so, but really, they are simply wasting oxygen that could be better spent elsewhere.

This child was out in the stroller long enough for heat exhaustion to set in. Who wants to bet there was no sunscreen involved, either? Nevermind the profound effects of skin cancer, how about the sun poisoning she likely has now. Poor baby.

 

[SydSim]

I think RUDisney was responding to Boomhauser's comment about being at Disney and not knowing where your kid is. RUDisney wasn't trying to compare the one personal incident with this one, only questioning the seemingly blanket statement that Boomhauser made about children being lost at WDW.

 

[Tikicampers]

The really stupid part of all this is that I've taken my sleeping toddler on PLENTY of slow rides such as POTC. They could've very easily taken her along even if she was napping.

When DS was 18 months, he fell asleep at MK, we rode POTC then walked to Haunted Mansion and rode that. He didn't wake up once.

And I still don't think Boomhauer was talking about a child wandering off and getting lost. We all know that happens everyday at WDW. This is a child that was left behind not lost.

 

[cardaway]

Reads like a very bad cover story. It's pretty obvious they left the child there on purpose, the question being why? Could have taken it on the ride, no issue there. Maybe it was napping and they though nobody would notice it being left alone?

 

[beachblanket]

These people should be shot.

Only after we get done with the rubber hose.

 

[JulyGirl]

Sounds to me like the parents just didn't want to wake the girl up to carry her on the ride. Idiots just parked her off to the side. I say these two should be made to sit in the blazing hot Florida sun for a couple of hours with no water or shade.

 

[Imzadi]

I'm the first to admit I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I once stepped away from my 2 yr old in a stroller to holler at my husband and step daughters that were in line to 20,000 leagues that I was taking my son over to the Dumbo ride. I pushed an empty stroller to the ride (talking to him the whole time!!) It wasn't until I went around to the front to get him out for the ride that I saw it was empty. I ran all the way back to him to find two CM's squatting down and talking to him!! I was so upset and was crying. They said they knew someone would be back cause he looked like a keeper!! They saw how upset I was and offered us sodas and popcorn. Anyhow, I obviously couldn't tell weight wise that the stroller was empty. It was 18 yrs ago and I only used an umbrella stroller back home...I wasn't used to the bigger plastic ones they had with a shade of some sort over the top.

The difference with your story is that at least you were still pushing the stroller. You could account for the stroller, just not DS, until you realized what happened.

In this story, they left the stroller AND the child. Actually, they left the child STRAPPED IN the stroller. They didn't account for either - for a whole 2 hours. Plus the parents supposedly left each other, too, for the whole two hours.

I'm sure there was plenty of evidence they had NOT been looking for her and in fact had left her intentionally all that time. Otherwise, I agree with a PP that we'd never have heard of this incident.

I'm sure there will be witnesses later who can testify that the parents were riding or standing together during part of those two hours. That it wasn't like they didn't know each other didn't have the child.

 

[Kath2003]

I'm sure there will be witnesses later who can testify that the parents were riding or standing together during part of those two hours. That it wasn't like they didn't know each other didn't have the child.

Disney is covered in CCTV cameras - it's not going to be difficult to prove. I bet you'll be able to see the parents riding a variety of different attractions during that time. And sorry - people make mistakes, like "forgetting" for a few minutes, or thinking they have the child in a stroller - but they are terrified as soon as they find out, which is usually a matter of under 5 minutes. If these parents visited a variety of attractions, it's going to be fairly obvious that they knew exactly where their child was - in the stroller, in the sun and NOT with them!

 

[RUDisney]

Disney is covered in CCTV cameras - it's not going to be difficult to prove.

You know, this is comforting. Well, this and the fact that the baby is ok. Even if the parents thought, for some unknown reason that they could leave their baby unattended for a few hours, it makes you wonder why they wouldn't have found a shady spot. I understand that if they left the baby in a stroller corral, a CM would have found the baby sooner, so if their intent was to have fun sans child, they wouldn't want that to happen.

This has been bothering me since I first read about it yesterday. I can't imagine a punishment that would be satisfactory for the abuse through which they put their child. Maybe the old standby of covering their naked bodies with honey and placing them over an ant hill in the desert.

 

[BMNABrinx]

Do you think these idiots really thought people would believe that story? They deserve at least the same punishment that the little girl had to endure, hopefully they receive more than a simple slap on the wrist. If they did this in a place as public as WDW I shutter to think what might go on in private places. God be with this little girl.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

wow alot to say on it. I wrote a post in disneyland forms. Im glad some one sent me to this one, much more info and I agree the parents are stupid and I think they did it on poupes.. i would never leave my child behind he is my life and I love him and it makes me sick to read about ppl like this.. i like the hunny and ant idea. and the sun idea, no hat, no water no shade. ... they better be punished i hate that they may get away with it with a slap on wrist

 

[chris1gill]

This has been bothering me since I first read about it yesterday. I can't imagine a punishment that would be satisfactory for the abuse through which they put their child. Maybe the old standby of covering their naked bodies with honey and placing them over an ant hill in the desert.

Oh, such great news, I just heard on Fox, that the parents have lost custody of the child to CPS, it's in a foster home now, it's so much safer there... As I said in another thread, perhaps if they are a repeat offender the child will be adopted out to a more deserving family. Who could imagine parents that would leave a sleeping child in the hot Florida sun....

But, it does make for good punishment doesn't it....

 

[agnes!]

Difference between CHILD wandering off - which does happen, even to the best of parents; and CHILD being in a fixed location and parents "forgetting" about him/her. An hour - SERIOUSLY? I wouldn't leave a dog out in the heat for half that time

Wasn't it closer to two hours?...one hour or so until someone noticed & notified CMs and then another 40 (or 50 or 60?) minutes until the abusive/neglectful lying sacks of **** showed up to claim their daughter.

agnes!

 

[rparmfamily]

I'm still shaking my head about this one...pathetic!!

 

[littlestix]

I'm still trying to figure out why it took an hour or so for someone to notice a small child alone ith the stroller I guess the child was asleep (right???), but in a desingated stroller area there would be tons of people comming and going. I think others saw her but didn't want "to be involved" I will take this as a lesson to be more aware of my surroundings.

 

[laurie31]

I'm still trying to figure out why it took an hour or so for someone to notice a small child alone ith the stroller I guess the child was asleep (right???), but in a desingated stroller area there would be tons of people comming and going. I think others saw her but didn't want "to be involved" I will take this as a lesson to be more aware of my surroundings.

I think that was part of the problem - she WASN'T left in a designated stroller area. Someone upthread suggested that the parents could have known she would have been discovered there and purposely left her someplace else. Or the parents could have been so lazy and self-centered that they didn't CARE where they parked it.

But you're right about being more aware. I wonder if many people passed by without noticing her, or just assumed a nearby adult was the parent. I can see it being easy to do, if you're focused on keeping up with your own kids, thinking about what you're doing next, looking around at all there is to see, etc.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

Oh, such great news, I just heard on Fox, that the parents have lost custody of the child to CPS, it's in a foster home now, it's so much safer there... As I said in another thread, perhaps if they are a repeat offender the child will be adopted out to a more deserving family. Who could imagine parents that would leave a sleeping child in the hot Florida sun....

But, it does make for good punishment doesn't it....

Okay, I was gonna post this the first time, but I refrained...now I will!

I think WDW really WAS the most magical place on earth for this little girl, because maybe this will be the start of a whole new life for her, with a family to actually take care of her!

 

[MrsPete]

Disney is covered in CCTV cameras - it's not going to be difficult to prove. I bet you'll be able to see the parents riding a variety of different attractions during that time. And sorry - people make mistakes, like "forgetting" for a few minutes, or thinking they have the child in a stroller - but they are terrified as soon as they find out, which is usually a matter of under 5 minutes. If these parents visited a variety of attractions, it's going to be fairly obvious that they knew exactly where their child was - in the stroller, in the sun and NOT with them!

I forget my keys all the time. I forget my cell phone on a regular basis. I don't want to admit how many pairs of sunglasses I lose in a year. But forget MY CHILD? Nope, that takes a special kind of stupid.

I can see a child wandering away. I can even see the parents taking the wrong stroller by accident. But to claim you FORGOT your child altogether while you rode several rides? Nope -- that's criminal.