Young girl found wandering alone outside near Duquesne Incline overnight reunited with mother
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A toddler found wandering along outside near the Duquesne Incline early on Thursday morning has been reunited with her mother.
According to police, they got a call around 4 a.m. for a little girl around three years old seen walking outside alone near the incline.
The child was found just before 5 a.m. and taken to the hospital wearing only a t-shirt.
She was taken to the hospital in serious but stable condition and treated for hypothermia.
The child's mother was located and they were reunited at the hospital. She told police the child was in the care of a babysitter and the child somehow opened the door and left the house in the middle of the night.
The babysitter then called 911 after the mother came to pick her child up. No charges are expected.
"What we find to be the solution for the caregiver, or for the homeowner, is to just consider some of the modern technology that has become very affordable for every home," Elizabeth Township Police Chief Ken Honick told KDKA-TV on Thursday.
Honick said the most inexpensive security device for your home is a doorbell camera with motion sensors that will alert you to movement.
If your child is being cared for at someone else's home, he urges parents to make sure they are comfortable with their level of security.
Honick added that children aren't the only ones who wander from the home. Adults do too, and there's a free program in Allegheny County that can help. It's called Project Lifesaver. It's geared for people who have autism spectrum disorder, a memory deficiency, down syndrome or suffer from PTSD.
The enrolled person would wear a small transmitter that emits a unique tracking device.
If you're a caregiver for someone you think is eligible for the project, contact the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office.