Eagan police: No charges in case of boy found on highway
No charges were expected against the mother of a 3-year-old boy found wandering on a highway barefoot in the middle of the night, police in Eagan said Tuesday.
The boy, wearing only a T-shirt, was unharmed after a motorist found him by the side of Highway 55 near Lone Oak Road in Eagan at 2:45 a.m. Tuesday. The motorist called police, who first went looking for the boy's parents at local businesses because there are no houses in the immediate vicinity.
Nearly three hours later, the boy's mother called police to report him missing, said officer Danielle Anselment of the Eagan Police Department.
"It was, in fact, the same child," Anselment said. "It appears that the child walked down two flights of stairs, went out into the garage and pushed a garage door opener and let himself outside."
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Anselment said after looking into the case, police don't expect to file charges against the mother, who along with her son was staying overnight at the Eagan home with family members. The boy was found about a half mile from the home.
"There doesn't appear to be any foul play," she said, adding that the case wasn't unique. "We do have situations periodically where children wander away from home."
The fact that it happened during the middle of the night was more unusual, Anselment said. Fortunately, the child wasn't hurt, she said.
"We're very thankful that the situation turned out the way that it did," she said.