Walk out the door yesterday to go food shopping... before I make it down
the stairs a girl comes up to me and asks if I know anyone missing a
little boy... Yeah. That's how it started. So I say no and she points
over to a little boy who looks about 2 years old. He is wearing a
t-shirt, shorts and no shoes...its been snowing and cold in NYC so
everything about this picture is odd. I go over to the boy and an older
woman who is holding his hand. He seems oblivious of everything
and is jumping up and down on his barefoot and seems in his own world.
She asks if I know him, I say no. She explains she saw him running in
the street...I'm in shock. She asks a passing couple if they know the
kids. No. While they are discussing this in Patois I mention that the
boy must be freezing and we have to find him clothes and call the
police. I take the boy back to the front of the woman's house where we
wait for her to get a sweater and the couple goes to their house to get
some shoes and socks for him. At least 4 people including my mom and
sis call the police...they don't arrive... We ask people door to door
if they know this little boy. I ask him what his name is...he just says
"no" and goes back to playing. We ask where he lives....he just
points...in 2 separate directions... at least 30 or more minutes pass
without either the police or his parents showing up...finally we see an
old woman looking around confused and then sees us and puts her hand to
her mouth in shock. She walks over...its his "grandmother". At this
point we don't want to hand him over as we cant be sure of that and the
police have already been called. Next come his "mother" and sister.
She looks in shock and tells a story about him somehow leaving the house
when the door was unlocked. He has delayed speech so is unable to say
much... We continue to wait for the police....This all happened
yesterday...the police never showed up... There's a LOT I can say
here...but I'll just leave it at that.
And this random situation pushed me to look back into the missing boy I had joined the search for months ago... Avonte Oquendo... As I do not follow the news I wasn't aware what had happened until now...So sad... I really hope people see stories like this and we all put the CARE and SAFETY of ALL children first and foremost in our minds and actions: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/22/nyregion/remains-found-in-queens-are-matched-to-missing-autistic-boy.html?_r=0
