Special to Lake Okeechobee News
OKEECHOBEE — On Jan. 5, at 8:20 p.m. Okeechobee City Police dispatch received a call from a hysterical female advising that her nephew was missing. The call was disconnected before additional information could be obtained. Dispatch called back and was able to verify an address in the 600 block of Southwest Ninth Street and that the child was 2 years old. Upon arrival it was determined the aunt is the custodial parent of the missing 2-year-old.
Okeechobee City Police, Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office and Okeechobee County Fire Rescue all responded to the scene. A perimeter was established and personnel began searching the area. According to the mother, she put the child to bed around 6 p.m. and walked to the store, leaving the child with a roommate in the home. A reverse 911 was sent out to the neighborhood and the residents started assisting in the search. Okeechobee Sheriff’s Office deployed a drone to assist in the search as well.
At 8:50 p.m., dispatch received an additional call. The caller stated they saw a black female driving an Equinox stop at the residence where the child was sitting on the porch. The woman knocked on the door, waited, then drove away with the child. The caller was not willing to give additional information. We were advised that the unknown female that took the child may be a cousin of the child. Attempts were made to reach the cousin to see if she had the child.
An officer then spoke with the uncle who owned the residence. The uncle was very irate about the mother calling the police over the missing child. The mother asked Major Taylor to speak with him. The uncle was yelling that the police officers should have never responded so quickly, the cops were trespassing and he wanted all the cops out of his home.
The mother advised she didn’t know the cousin’s address but could take officers there. Officer VanDeman drove the mother to the cousin’s residence. While enroute the mother received a call from the cousin advising that she did in fact have the child.
Detective Bieger and Major Taylor responded to the address in Dewberry Gardens and spoke with the cousin. She advised that she and a couple of friends had gone out to eat, on the way back home she had them swing by the house to check on the aunt and the child. The cousin advised she found the child in a wet diaper, dirty, sitting outside on the steps. The cousin advised that she knocked repeatedly and no one came to the door. The cousin said they sat in the yard for approximately 10 minutes to see if the aunt returned. When she did not, they took the child with them. The cousin said she put the child on a pallet, and they laid down for a nap.
The cousin received a text message from the mother’s roommate at approximately 6:45 p.m. stating the mother had returned home but still didn’t know the child was missing. The cousin showed detectives her phone log where she attempted to contact the mother. According to the cousin, her aunt leaving the child has been an ongoing issue.
Based on the investigation and the information gathered, the family members allowed the search to continue in an effort to get the mother’s attention regarding her habit of consistently leaving the child.
The child was returned to the mother after being checked by law enforcement, DCF has been contacted and the investigation is still active.
