Boy Found in Store Returned to Mother; No Charges Filed

The mother of a 3-year-old boy found wandering alone late at night at a supermarket showed up at the police station Tuesday, but was not arrested pending further investigation, according to authorities.

The name of the woman was not released because she was not charged with a crime, said Officer Jason Lee, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department. “At this time, detectives have decided not to place [the mother] under arrest,” he said, because “It’s not clear” what happened.

The boy was brought into a Lucky supermarket in the 6800 block of Lennox Avenue on Monday about 10 p.m. by a homeless person, store workers told police.

Police arrived shortly after and found the boy in good health, clean and dressed well, Lee said. But they were unable to locate his parents Monday night.

Lee said a poster was made by police and circulated around the neighborhood Tuesday. The mother showed up at the LAPD’s Van Nuys station soon after.

The mother was interviewed by detectives, but details about how the boy ended up alone at the store were not immediately available, Lee said.

Police would reveal only that the mother had said there was some sort of confusion between the family and the day-care center about where the boy should have been, Lee said.

The case “is still under investigation,” Lee said. “The good news is we have located the child’s mother.”