Day care leaves park, toddler left behind, officials say

FORT MILL, S.C. — A 3-year-old boy is back with his family after a woman said she found him at a Fort Mill park crying and alone.

The toddler was found Thursday at Steele Street Park, officials said.

Deana Vinson discovered the lost boy.

“I couldn't imagine if that would've been one of my children,” Vinson said.

She was with her grandchildren at the park.

“My oldest grandson was like, ‘Nana, there's a baby up here crying,’” Vinson said.

The child had been left behind by his day care provider.

Vinson said she noticed the group before, but she wasn't sure where they were from.

She called local rec centers, Fort Mill police and posted his picture on Facebook.

“They (day care officials) could've just done a head count and figured out they were missing a kid before they pulled off,” Vinson said.

An employee at the day care said it was a horrible mistake.

Vinson said it took two hours for a day care worker to return and pick up the child.

“I guess she figured out she'd left him at the park,” Vinson said.

She said the woman also told police she was the toddler's mother.

“I went over and told the officers, I said, ‘That's not his mother. That's one of the workers that was here,'” Vinson said. “I mean, how do you leave a child at the park?”

Editor's note: Channel 9 did not identify the day care Friday because officials there are not facing charges.

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