4-year-old found wandering in park

October 3, 2010

By Mark LaFlamme, Staff Writer

Published Oct 02, 2010 12:00 am | Last updated Oct 02, 2010 12:00 am

OXFORD – A 4-year-old girl found wandering in a trailer park early Friday

morning had slipped out of her home while her family was sleeping, police said

later in the day.

The incident unfolded at about 2 a.m. when police were told the child, dressed

only in a diaper, had wandered up to a home at Oxford Pines Regency park on

Skeetfield Road.

Residents of that home could not figure out where the child had come from so

they called police for help. Soon after, Sgt. Rickie Jack was at the trailer

park and attempting to find out where the girl belonged. He asked the wandering

child where she lived, but " she really couldn't communicate very well, " Jack

said.

As it turns out, the 4-year-old is autistic and did not comprehend what the

officer was trying to ask her, Jack said. So he went door to door looking for

the girl's home.

Jack said he took the girl and began searching the trailer park, looking for a

home with an open door or with the lights on. He found one trailer lit up and

knocked on the door.

It was not the girl's home, Jack said, but the occupants knew her parents and

pointed the officer in the right direction. At the girl's home, he found the

windows dark as her parents slept inside.

" I ended up waking them up, " Jack said.

The parents were shocked to find that the girl had slipped out, Jack said, and

relieved that she had been returned safely. He stressed that there was no gross

negligence involved – the girl had simply awakened, was curious and restless in

the wee hours.

" She was able to get out of the home, " Jack said. " It's a scary thing. "

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