MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - Police are searching for the parents of a teen found wandering in Miami Gardens, Tuesday.
Police received a call from a good Samaritan, who said the teen had been sleeping outside for days at the Douglas Pointe Apartments, located on 183rd Street in Miami Gardens.
Officials released the teen’s picture, Wednesday afternoon, asking for the public’s help in finding his parents.
According to Miami Beach Police, the 14-year-old boy said he hasn’t seen his parents in days.
Alexandra Gonzalez, who lives at the apartment complex, said she had heard from neighbors that a homeless man had been sleeping outside.
She said she had no choice but to help.
“I’m a mother. Any child is on the street, I’m letting them in my home,” said Gonzalez.
According to police, the teen slept outside at the apartment complex for two nights before he wound up at Gonzalez’s doorstep, Tuesday.
Neighbors said someone had given the teen a pillow, but he hadn’t eaten or showered.
Gonzalez and her boyfriend took the teen in, giving him a shower, clothes and a hot meal while they spent hours trying to track down his parents.
“When I checked him out from head to toe, I noticed that his shirt was a little bit dirty or whatnot,” said Gonzalez. “So I put one and one together. I saw that nobody was answering his calls so I got worried…”
Gonzalez’s boyfriend said the boy couldn’t tell him where his parents were, but he did say that his mother lived at the complex, but she hadn’t been back since Sunday.
“This is a child that slept three nights on the floor in front of his mother’s house, waiting for her to get home with no contact with anybody,” said Gonzalez.
The couple said they spoke with the teen’s dad, but eventually he stopped responding.
They drove the teen to the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, where the teen said his father lived, then eventually called the authorities.
“If you have nowhere else to go, you’re still a child, you are a minor – your father is responsible for you, your mother is responsible for you, not the community,” said Gonzalez.
“It kinda hurt, because I seen it in his eyes that he was hurt,” said Gonzalez’s boyfriend, who did not wish to be identified. “And when he told me – he’s like, ‘I just wish that I had better parents.'”
Gonzalez had a message for the teen’s parents. “You don’t understand how much you’re hurting that poor child,” she said. “You brought pain into my heart knowing that you’re making a child suffer, and you guys should be ashamed of yourselves.”
The child is currently in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families. A hearing has been set for 1 p.m., Thursday.
If you have any information on this child found, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
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