FAST FACTS:
(Memphis 11/09/09) The Tennessee Department of Childrens Services is investigating how a two year-old girl was left abandoned at a southeast Memphis Walmart Sunday afternoon.
Memphis police arrived shortly to the Winchester location after two o'clock to the report of a toddler alone in a shopping cart, crying.
Shoppers reported hearing Walmart Supercenter employees paging the parents or guardians over the store intercom, but no one arrived.
DCS workers took the little girl into state care and began the search for her family. A DCS spokesperson says the agency is in contact with her family, and while no charges have been filed, the agency will continue to investigate before sending the child back to her family.
"Any child that's left alone especially in that environment is unacceptable," says one Memphis mother, Michelle Chambers.
Child experts at the Memphis Child Advocacy Center fear what could have happened had a Walmart employee (who also works for DCS) not been around.
"Your child should not be more than just a few steps from you whenever you are in public," says child expert Felicia Gladue. "Thank goodness there was somebody who noticed this child unattended and took action."
As authorities continue to investigate exactly how the child was left alone, public reaction has been strong for a case that Walmart says is all too common.
"Things like that happen from time to time, but I think that the management team here handled it fairly well and this situation was resolved," says Walmart spokesperson Jacob Frias.
- Toddler abandoned at southeast Memphis Walmart Supercenter
- Memphis Police, TN Department of Childrens Services investigating
- 2 year-old girl found alone, crying in cart
(Memphis 11/09/09) The Tennessee Department of Childrens Services is investigating how a two year-old girl was left abandoned at a southeast Memphis Walmart Sunday afternoon.
Memphis police arrived shortly to the Winchester location after two o'clock to the report of a toddler alone in a shopping cart, crying.
Shoppers reported hearing Walmart Supercenter employees paging the parents or guardians over the store intercom, but no one arrived.
DCS workers took the little girl into state care and began the search for her family. A DCS spokesperson says the agency is in contact with her family, and while no charges have been filed, the agency will continue to investigate before sending the child back to her family.
"Any child that's left alone especially in that environment is unacceptable," says one Memphis mother, Michelle Chambers.
Child experts at the Memphis Child Advocacy Center fear what could have happened had a Walmart employee (who also works for DCS) not been around.
"Your child should not be more than just a few steps from you whenever you are in public," says child expert Felicia Gladue. "Thank goodness there was somebody who noticed this child unattended and took action."
As authorities continue to investigate exactly how the child was left alone, public reaction has been strong for a case that Walmart says is all too common.
"Things like that happen from time to time, but I think that the management team here handled it fairly well and this situation was resolved," says Walmart spokesperson Jacob Frias.
