NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Police have located the family of a child who was found wandering the streets of North Miami Beach in the early morning hours, and now they have opened an investigation.
The child was found alone and barefoot near Northeast 15th Avenue and 173rd Street, just before 1:30 a.m., Friday.
Surveillance video captured the boy in the distance as he walked in the middle of the road.
“Very dangerous situation in the middle of the night,” said area resident Robert Barrabeitg.
The surveillance video showed someone on a bicycle and a driver pulling up to help the toddler.
Ring camera video later showed a police officer carrying the child while another used a flashlight to search the neighborhood.
North Miami Beach Police said the boy is nonverbal and was unable to give information to find his guardians.
“It just looks a little suspicious because, like, how would you not know your kid that small is not in your house? I would understand if it was a teenager, but this is a small child,” said a woman who lives in the neighborhood.
Detectives issued a flyer with the child’s picture, and officers went door to door looking for his family.
Neighbors reacted to the news as police canvassed the area in an effort to reunite the boy with his family.
“It was like around 2:15 a.m., this morning, and I was just like, ‘Who is knocking at my door?’ I actually didn’t open the door because that has never happened around here in this neighborhood,” said the woman who lives in the neighborhood.
“They brought the child to me to see if I recognized who the child belongs to. I said, ‘No, I’ve never seen the baby around here’ at that time,” said Barrabeitg.
“The police department was very, very concerned. They brought the child to all of the homes to make sure that the proper family was found,” said area resident Jamie Encarnacion.
In a tweet posted around 1:40 p.m., police confirmed they had found the boy’s family.
Sometime later, several people believed to be family members left the North Miami Beach Police Department building without the boy. A woman said, “Leave us all alone. Yeah, I’m so sorry,” before walking toward an SUV.
Detectives said that while they have found the boy’s family, this case remains under investigation.
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