OAKLAND PARK, FLA. (WSVN) - The family of a toddler who was found dead in a van parked outside of a day care gathered for a memorial in Oakland Park.
A criminal investigation began Tuesday after 2-year-old Noah Sneed was found dead inside a white Ford van parked outside of Ceressa’s Enrichment and Empowerment Academy, located along the 3100 block of Northwest 21st Avenue, on Monday afternoon.
On Wednesday, Chanese Sneed, the child’s mother, shared a TikTok video of her son that she had recorded the day he was found in the van.
“I’m just taking it hard. Nobody understands how it is to lose a 2-year-old,” said Sneed. “I miss my baby. He was the happiest thing ever. I just want justice for my baby. Please, that’s all.”
It remains unknown how long the child was inside of the van before his body was found.
“He was picked up around 7 something, and then they said that everybody got off the bus, and then they said somebody was leaving the facility around 3 something to go to lunch and spotted the baby in the car,” said Charlene Ann Brooks, the child’s grandmother. “How did that lady come out and spot him in the car and nobody else spotted him? I don’t understand.”
The day care facility has since been shut down.
Meanwhile, Sneed’s loved ones gathered outside the day care for his memorial, Tuesday night.
“No one should ever have to go through this,” said Teresa Brown, the toddler’s great aunt. “That shouldn’t be a call that a parent put their child on a bus, and expecting their child to return home, and they don’t return home.”
The driver of the van has not been identified.
“He’s in a better place, and we will all remember his name,” said Xaivier Daley, Sneed’s brother.
Daley said the toddler was not only a good brother but a friend.
“He was a special little boy to me,” a young girl added.
“The little kids was telling them there was a baby on the bus, and he was sleeping. Why nobody did never go check to see? I don’t understand,” said Brooks.
“To imagine a child sitting in a van for that long with the seatbelt on, and no one noticed that he was missing,” added Brown. “No one took roll to count to make sure that the children are in the inside. We need justice.”
The incident remains an open death investigation. Charges may soon follow.
Click here to contribute to the family’s GoFundMe campaign.
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