On Aug. 1, at 12:29 p.m., a Brandon deputy responded to the Clarkston Lakes Mobile Home Park office in the 4200 block of Dogwood for a found child.
A woman found a 4-year-old boy riding his bicycle at the intersection of Wildwood Loop and Fir Street who was very upset and calling out for his mother. The woman brought the child and his bike to the park office and an employee called police. The boy appeared healthy and clean. He was difficult to communicate with because he knew only his first name, his mother’s first name, and the first names of his sisters. Two deputies drove around the park for more than an hour, trying to find the boy’s home or a parent without success. The deputies drove the child to the substation and contacted Child Protective Services, which dispatched an investigator.
The deputies showed the child mugshot photos and the boy identified his father from a mugshot. No one was home at the address of the man in the mugshot, but as police were leaving, an SUV pulled up and a man got out, saying, ‘We’ve been looking all over the place for him.?
When a deputy asked how long the child was missing, the man said, ‘half an hour.?
The time was 4:30 p.m., four hours after police had been called. The parents were advised the boy was at the substation and they needed to come over. They were interviewed by a CPS investigator and the boy’s home was inspected.
A gun that was found in the home with a round in it was taken by police for safekeeping.
After the inspection was complete, the CPS investigator released the boy to his parents? custody with plans to follow up the next day.
The case is being reviewed by the prosecutor’s office for possible warrants.