APD locates parents of nonverbal child found wandering outside on Halloween

ATLANTA — Atlanta police are looking into why a young non-verbal child with autism, was walking in the middle of Mt. Gilead Road in southwest Atlanta late Halloween night.

A couple driving down the road around 11 p.m., spotted the young boy and took him to safety in a nearby neighborhood.

“I saw it when they found the child. I saw the child with people across the street, they were holding him and had a blanket wrapped around him and he was sitting in a chair. He only had a diaper and tee shirt on.” said neighbor Lois Herndon.

Late Thursday night, police released an alert asking for the public’s help to identify the child or his family.

About 12 hours later, police announced they had found the parents. Investigators haven’t released the names of the parents or child.

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Some people who live in the area, say they are appalled that a toddler would be out walking alone in the middle of the night and that it took so long for the parents to be in contact with police.

“I think it’s horrible for whatever parent or parents who haven’t checked on their child and called police to say my child is missing. Was the child alone and wandered out? I think it’s terrible.” neighbor Marilyn Nolton told Channel 2′s Tom Regan.

Police say they are continuing to conduct interviews and gather information as to what happened. They say they do not yet know if charges will be filed in the case.

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