Three days after a toddler lost his parents during revelry in the Fox Hill community, police officers were still going door to door trying to determine the boy’s identity and re-establish links with his relatives.
Police launched an island wide appeal for anyone with information on this toddler to come forward. The child, whose identity has yet to be determined, was lost in the Fox Hill community Monday during the Emancipation Day celebrations. The child – who is unable to tell police his name – went missing after 6pm Monday during the Emancipation Day celebrations in Fox Hill.
Police discovered him wondering the streets at the junction of Rose Street near the SC chicken shack. At the time the toddler was wearing a gray and red shirt, black and red sandals and plaid trousers.
Officers who were taking care of him speculated that he was around two years old, seeing that he was still wearing diapers.
He hasn’t cried for his parents while in their custody, according to Sergeant Debbie McCartney, and only shed a few tears when she dropped him off at his temporary home at an undisclosed location.
“Because he was with me for the greater part of yesterday he had gotten attached to me and he cried when I left him,” she told the Bahama Journal yesterday.
“Probably when night comes then children tend to want their parents more at night but during the day he didn’t indicate that.”
Although the police released a photograph of the child to the media Tuesday, they refused to disclose his location, saying only that he is in protective custody.
On Wednesday, police Press Liaison Officer Inspector Walter Evans appealed to members of the public who might have valuable information to come forward and contact the Fox Hill Police Station at 324-2030 or the police control room at 919.
Said Inspector Evans: “The thing is, in a situation like this you must allow your conscience to affect you. I mean how could one allow a child of this age to go missing and not report it?
“That’s an individual. That’s a life. That’s a person and yet a child like this is left to be wandering. There are no reports. This is something we have to be concerned about as a community. The community at large should be concerned about something like this.”
He noted that cases of lost children are irregular in The Bahamas and expressed hope that authorities’ heart felt appeal would strike a chord in the community.
“We want persons to really come forward because we recognize that this is an individual, this is a human being and human beings ought to be treated with love and respect and concern,” Inspector Evans said.
“There ought to be nurturing shown and that is the reason why we really want this little boy to be placed in the proper care of his relatives.”
Police said the child is still very much a baby. Aside from not being able to give his name, he does not say when he is hungry or need to use the bathroom.
“He is very energetic and runs around a lot. He played all day yesterday at the station. He was pretty carefree and to get him to sit down you had to sit him on your lap,” said Sergeant McCartney.
She was one of the officers who took the child randomly to a number of houses in the Fox Hill area Tuesday.
Police say they are uncertain whether charges will be brought against the parents or guardians if they do claim the toddler.
“Once persons come forward we have to look at all the circumstances then a determination will be made. There might be some justifiable reason. I can’t say at this stage,” Inspector Evans said.
“Once the persons come forward and they say exactly why this little boy went wondering or why he was not reported missing then we will proceed from there.”
By: Tosheena Robinson-Blair, The Bahama Journal
