Rural Carrier Denise Martel-Bastien pulled into a Londonderry, NH, condominium complex recently when she saw a worrisome sight: a toddler alone in the street — shoeless and sobbing.
Martel-Bastien and a concerned resident approached the boy, who managed to tell them only his name, that he was 3 and that he’d gotten lost while following a cat.
The resident provided a blanket to warm up the child’s cold, wet feet and alerted the property manager, who didn’t recognize the boy and contacted police.
Martel-Bastien held the frightened tot on her lap until officers arrived, and she and the resident assured him that “these are friends of ours and they’re going to take really good care of you,” the Boston Herald newspaper reported.
Authorities issued a social media alert and eventually identified the boy. They determined that he had been in his father’s care at a nearby residence, and he was reunited with his mother, who lived elsewhere.
The father was charged with endangering the welfare of a child.