Boy is left behind as his family evacuates

[TheWatcher]

CONROE - Police are trying to locate the family of a 10-year-old Pasadena boy who was left behind at a convenience store Thursday afternoon as relatives continued their evacuation trek.

Conroe police spokesman Sgt. Bob Berry said the family was traveling in a five-car caravan from Pasadena headed to Dallas when they stopped in Conroe.

He said the family members went into the store as a group but apparently did not do a head count when they left and got back into their cars.

The boy told police he turned around and his family was gone.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/3366129

************************************************************************

Dear God. HOW could you leave your kid behind. This is so very sad. :(

[AtomicKitten]

1. And I was wondering how people could leave pets behind.

Wow.

[girl gone mad]

2. That poor boy..

He must be terrified.

[tblue37]

93. Yeah,

and he will undoubtedly have some emotional consequences from this. A kid expects his family to care about him and keep him safe. This one will always know that the adults in his family were not thinking of him or looking after him. He will have a hard time feeling safe again.

[willing dwarf]

3. 5 car caravan

Probably they assumed he was in one of the other cars.

When people are under such stress they can't think as clearly.

Poor fellow. I hope he's not too scared.

[Big Kahuna]

19. That's what I was thinking

People are too quick to judge.

[rodeodance]

29. Yes, I agree with you. Lets just hope they find each other.

[TankLV]

85. "Home Alone - III"

Sad.

[Nihil]

4. Ye Gods ...

... not *another* film by Macaulay Culkin ... please? :crazy:

[ladylibertee]

5. Aw man.That's sad.I bet they are stuck in traffic trying to get back to

the place they left him.I would feel so bad.I hope he is okay.

[KayLaw]

6. That's right

If they've realized it by now, they must be frantic. Can you imagine? Once we stayed at a hotel in Orlando with my husband's family. My m-i-l and s-i-l were standing in the hotel's open elevator making plans with my husband and sons for dinner and s-i-l's toddler was standing just outside the elevator. The doors suddenly closed behind them and the child was left outside and the elevator continued to rise to my floor. They were all near hysteria but could do nothing about it.

My husband rushed our boys to our room and left them with me, then ran down the stairs while s-i-l rode the elevator. They all got to s-i-l's floor to find my nephew sitting on a bench near the elevator talking with a nice lady who was assuring him it was only an accident all was well. S-i-l was still heartbroken and ashamed when we met at dinner, so I told her a few of my own not-so-Mother-of-the-year stories to cheer her up.

The fear of the hurricane, the umpteen people in the 5-car caravan. . ."Oh my God, I thought he was with you". . .I can see it happening.

[LosinIt]

9. and how far down the road will they be before they realize?

if everyone assumes all is well they will have no reason to panic until they make their next potty stop which will not be until it is an absolute necessity. Oh, I don't know what I would do if that ever happened to me. I would probably throw up, start screaming and crying and generally not helping matters any by being totally out of control. I left a purse at a thruway restaurant once and almost threw a clot.

[ladylibertee]

13. OMG I would have freaked, got off on the next floor and ran down

the stairs.A baby? OMG.:scared:

[KayLaw]

23. They did freak.

Oddly, the same thing happened to a couple I knew in the Keys. They were on vacation in another country and one child slipped out with the crowd on the wrong floor and the doors closed before they could snatch him back. It turned out well, thank goodness. Live and learn. Gotta watch those elevator doors and the kiddies. Little ones momentarily slip away from us all the time but when it happens on an elevator. . .Yikes!

[ladylibertee]

27. I'm gonna be the most parnoid mother.I swear.

[SoCalDem]

52. We once left our "then" 6-month old at a wallpaper store.

I picked up the sample books, and assumed that my husband had picked up the baby carrier.. He had the hand of our 4 yr old, and was not used to carrying the baby, so off he headed to the car..leaving Steven in his carseat..sitting on the table where the wallpaper books were...

As soon as I saw him and Michael exit the door, I said.."Where's Steven?".. The saleslady was right behind him and was grinning ear to ear.. She came out and said.. "Did you forget something"?..

To this day, Michael reminds Steven that "Mom & Dad left YOU at a wallpaper store".:)

[tblue37]

94. Do you remember the story of the woman who was

chatting on her cell phone on a bus and then got off the bus, still blabbing away, and left her baby behind in his infant carrier?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. One Child. There are hundreds of missing New Orleans Children!

Find the missing New Orleans children first!

[TheWatcher]

8. Um, I am not sure what your point is here

But this story was not posted and I am sure not reported with the intent of taking attention away from something like that.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

31. Not to take away from the one child, but there is differential coverage

The lost New Orleans children have dropped off the front page of newspapers and nightly TV news and off of DU. What happened to "No Child Left Behind"?

This is not to take anything away from this one child or one family. I wish there were more coverage and more effort to find the other children and unite them with their families.

This country has a fetish of platitudes about how precious children are, and they certainly are precious to their families. But when it comes to taking care of them by government and the community, there seems to be a mismatch between rhetoric and effort and results.

I do hope this one child is found and re-united with the family.

[Reciprocity]

51. Are you incapable of caring about both?

This is the first place I've seen news about this poor unfortunate child. However this past weekend, CNN had four days 24/7 showing pictures and names of missing Katrina children.

[barb162]

87. Up in my area they are constantly showing photos of lost kids

frmn Katrina , every day. Thing is, there aren't that many people here from Katrina. It's both national and local feed

[KitchenWitch]

10. That is really insensitive

Yes there are missing NOLA children, and adults for that matter, but that does not lessen the pain of this family.

If it were your child left behind at the convenience store, would you insist upon finding the children in New Orleans first?

[TheWatcher]

11. It is really disheartening to see this kind of insensitivity on DU

It's uncalled for, and it's unnecessary, and KitchenWitch I completely agree with you.

I have been seeing a number of posts this morning expressing insensitivity on a level I am very uncomfortable with.

Even such sentiment as to people actually being "THRILLED" by what they are seeing unfold down there, because it's some kind of Kharmic Retribution, as illustrated in this thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4856634

As for the previous Poster, there is no question that there should be and continues to be concern for those affected by Katrina, but the current concern is that Monster in the Gulf that is threatening our FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS in Texas.

How would you feel if this were YOUR Child?

This is not about politics, and this is not about what missing children should have higher status or concern over other missing children.

This is a sad story about a family who lost their kid, and a horrifying illustration of the chaos that is truly happening down there.

[KitchenWitch]

12. Yes, the level of insensitivity here has really been discouraging.

We ALL need to remember that not all Texans voted for *.

These two storms have shattered any illusions I still had about how "civilized" we are. When it comes right down to it, Katrina and Rita have leveled us down to an 'every man for himself' mentality.

The thing about New Orleans is, frankly, that it is unlikely that very many people, children or otherwise, will be found alive, so there is time. In coastal Texas, they do not have time, they need to get far inland to ride out the storm, and anyone missing is a more urgent situation.

[willing dwarf]

14. Different ways of processing a story like this

Seems this story is a good object lesson in how the left becomes divided.

Sometimes each of us see matters from a personal point of view and other times see them from a more political point of view. Having children, the story of the child left in convenience store hits home personally.

If I didn't have kids, I could see this as a reason to make a political point. Political points can seem espeically crass when one is processing a story from a personal point of view.

Many of us are liberals out of compassion. But to martial the resources of compassionate hearts takes political leadership which quickly becomes a thing unto itself.

Just some thought for y'all...

[Crazy Guggenheim]

16. There shouldn't be any divide on this!

[KitchenWitch]

18. When one suffers - we ALL do.

From where I sit, I believe it is a time to put politics aside and take up humanity and compassion.

[TankLV]

86. I don't have kids and I don't see it as a chance to score a political

point!

Sigh.

[billyskank]

15. Look at it this way

You know that this story at least is going to have a happy ending.

[KitchenWitch]

17. True

SOMEBODY found the child.

[qanda]

20. My mom had five children

And I cannot tell you how many times one of us got left behind at home or at church. I can totally see how this child could be mistakenly left behind. Everyone probably thought he was in the other car. I'm sure they will be frantic when they figure out their mistake.

[shrike]

32. Yeah, my brother-in-law was left behind when he was six

Easy to do under the best of circumstances. I remember Ron Howard on a talk show, talking about how they'd left one of his sons behind while on a family outing. Guess it was a whole group of them, a couple different cars, and he and the wife started calling around on their cell phones: "Thought he was with you. Thought he was with you..."

The kid was about 12 and just stayed put until they came back. Guess some strangers were nice to him and he was pretty calm when they found him.

[KoKo]

34. Yep, my Mother-in-Law had five boys and she accidentally left one at the

beach when he was only three years old. Everyone laughs about it today...but I don't think the one that was left ever got over it. He never laughs when the story is told.

It happens especially when folks are in a rush and these people are really panicked...

Sad, though...what a mess this all is for everyone.

[shrike]

49. Yeah, three is a lot different than 12

The 12-year-old (Ron Howard's kid) probably thought it was an adventurer. Can't imagine what it must have been like for a three-year-old.

Even under the best of conditions, families sometimes get rushed, don't count heads, and make mistakes. The hurricane is not making it any easier for these folks.

[KayLaw]

21. Just a thought

They'll probably announce it on the radio and that's how they'll find out. Can you imagine?

[KitchenWitch]

22. Terrible way to find out

But at least they will know he is okay.

[acmavm]

24. One of my ex-BIL's still talks to this day about how his parents left him

at a restaurant in a rest stop in Oklahoma. He was an infant in a car seat.

You'd have to meet the family. Not the brightest bunch on the planet.

[jmm]

25. When I was 18 months and my brother was 3

we were playing in a park one day he threw a brick at me. Head wounds bleed alot and from what I've been told (of course I was too young to remember) I was covered in blood. My mom panicked, picked me up and ran out of the park trying to flag down a cab. As soon as she saw one she screamed, "The Boy!" and ran back because she forgot my brother. Luckily we both were ok. I can easily understand how even good parents could leave a child behind in a store especially when they were in a five car caravan fleeing a hurricane.

[WearyOne]

26. "Home Alone" !

[hedgehog]

28. This is very understandable.

I have six kids, so we were our own little crowd when we went to the mall. More then once, I did a head count and found an extra kid. Little kids would tend to follow the crowd. It got to be a family joke to keep an eye out for extras. The kids got adept at herding strays back to their mothers.

[Donailin]

30. 7-11 Alone

Life imitates Art.

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[KoKo]

35. One hopes you are being sarcastic here....

:-(

[DS1]

36. Nope

.

[yellowcanine]

37. There is a moron here but it is not "those people".

I take it you don't have any children or you wouldn't be so judgemental. Kids get separated from families, particularly in times of stress. It happens all the time. Get a clue.

[DS1]

38. Keep an eye on your damn kids

Perhaps they'll deliver a clue

[yellowcanine]

39. I will, thank you. But you have no idea of what happened here so you

ought to keep your mean judgemental thoughts to yourself.

[DS1]

40. Isn't not keeping judgemental thoughts to myself the entire point

of DU?

[Lars39]

41. And you think that allows you to basically call anyone with children

fucking morons?

[Name removed]

43. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Lars39]

45. You know personal attacks aren't allowed.

You are revealing much more of your personality that you think you are.

[DS1]

47. That's the intent

I do get pissed when someone takes something I said and twists it around to try prove a non-statement.

[Lars39]

50. With wit that sharp, you wind up cutting yourself.

[DS1]

54. Why is it so hard to suggest a parent do his or her job?

Why does having a kid promote the misconception that one is holier than thou, and deserves a break - because 'parenting is hard work'.

Give me a goddamn break, some idiot left a child behind, which should be a criminal offense. I point this out, and I'm "the bad guy". There's no excuse for leaving a kid behind. None. They're just lucky a cop found him first. He could be in a van getting cut to pieces by now, and then you'll probably say something about it.

[Lars39]

56. Why is so hard to have empathy for people in distress?

[DS1]

57. Because there is no amount of distress that excuses leaving

a child behind.

[Lars39]

59. You seem to have a limited capacity for understanding human behavior.

on edit: didn't mean to leave it so open-ended.

[Name removed]

60. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[gardenista]

75. He knows, it doesn't stop him. DS1 has special privileges.

apparently.

[Reciprocity]

62. Remember, some peoples remarks on post ...

...have nothing to do with the question at hand.

[Name removed]

42. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DS1]

44. Yes, I'm sure I'm the right place

Stop calling me a freeper for suggesting that people who can't count to less than ten digits shouldn't be in charge of kids.

[Lars39]

46. You may not be a freeper, but you are exhibiting troll behavior.

[DS1]

48. Yeah

You got me, go count some kids

[miss_kitty]

55. Ahahahahaha!

DS1 a troll?

Priceless!

[Lars39]

58. I said troll behavior. It's not limited to freeper you know.

[arikara]

76. Leaving a kid behind is easily done

I've known it to happen several times with loving responsible parents who weren't under terrific stress at the time. My parents forgot my little brother once and we were halfway home before any of us realized it. One of my friends was forgotten at a gas station by her family (9 kids...) and they drove for an hour before they missed her.

Try walking in their shoes before you judge them. They will be feeling terrible enough as it is.

[Puglover]

72. Kailassa

I think you're a little new on this forum to be suggesting long time posters may or may not be on the wrong forum.

[JustSayNO 2 Sheeples]

61. I must agree

You can all call me a freeper if you wish but think about it. Is the responsibility of being a parent to make SURE your child is safe under any circumstances? ANY circumstances.

I work in an industry where I see parents all the time ignoring those responsibilities, usually ending up with the childs death or serious injury. And I'm sorry, I can't "feel" for them to the point of excusing their behavior. Despite all the "lessons" constantly being taught to people, they just ignore the safety of their family.

While there may be a valid reason that they made a mistake (5 cars, chaos, panic), it is still not excusable. It apparently was a mistake involving ignorance. But do you excuse an "ignorant" mistake of leaving a baby in a closed up car in 100 degree heat? Do you excuse the death of an infant who was sitting in moms lap instead of a car seat?

Go ahead and blast DSI. Or me for that matter. But put your compassion to work for the 10-year old, who DESERVED the right to an intelligent parent.

[Reciprocity]

63. So are you suggesting

the parents should be jailed and the child taking into foster care?

[DS1]

64. There should be a least a healthy fine

No excuse, none whatsoever. Now finding that kid's idiot parents has tied up valuable emergency resources, just because some asshole doesn't know how to count.

[yellowcanine]

68. You are pretty free with the epithets once again. I wonder if all of your

actions could withstand the same kind of scrutiny this family is getting? Just because your screwups don't make national news doesn't mean they aren't just as idiotic.

[DS1]

69. There's not a single point in your reply that's related to this

discussion.

[Puglover]

74. Am I missing something here?

I just reread the article.....as far as I can see it's been over 12 hours and they still haven't found the parents nor have they picked up the cell phone number which the little boy had.....

[Puglover]

73. I cannot believe that people in this thread are painting the parents

of this poor kid as....jesus I don't even know what. They left their kid behind!!!!! Jail time no. Fine? Maybe....but Christ...DS1 is right. They are lucky that a cop found him not some fucking monster. Would you all be be sympathetic to them if the worst had happened?

[JustSayNO 2 Sheeples]

65. I'm not suggesting...

anything as far as that.... I'm just mystified why DS1's point of people "too stupid to be parents" meets such resistance here. As far as the responses go, you are making the parents out to be some kind of victim that should receive sympathy. The kid deserves sympathy, not the irresponsible parents.

[geebensis]

77. Call it...

" I'm just mystified why DS1's point of people "too stupid to be parents" meets such resistance here."

Call it the "...but for the grace of God" sense of empathy.

What mystifies me is the expectation that others should never, ever make a mistake.

Shit happens. Even to parents.

[JustSayNO 2 Sheeples]

80. Empathy?

My whole goal in life at the moment is getting my family to safety and I forget one? I could empathize with making a mistake like turning left instead of right and hitting flood waters, resulting in losing one of my kids. But forgetting one at a store and still 12 hours later, you haven't even noticed?

Come on, would you give the same empathy or sympathy if it were Michael Brown who was responsible for getting this family to safety? Would you be able to say "shit happens" in that case? If so, then you have no argument over NOLA.

[geebensis]

81. 5 car caravan...

Confusion, panic... I have a hard time being really judgemental here.

I'd be willing to bet you won't find many parents who are as harshly critical and condemning as yourself. Why do you think that is?

[JustSayNO 2 Sheeples]

88. I'm a parent

I raised two kids on my own for the past 16 years, they're now in college. I never lost either of them. I also, for the past four years, was in charge of moving more than 200 kids every week for school-related trips, including taking them in to major cities. I never lost any of them, including in the hustle and bustle of Times Square (and these kids, some of them had never been to an airport).

It boils down to, like I said, a parent's responsibility. Are you willing to sit down with your kid and say to him/her, "listen Hon, you know I will care for you, protect you, blah blah blah, but, just so you know, there may come a day when I am so preoccupied that I might just forget all about you"?

I will freely admit to you that I am cynical. Like I said, I work in an industry where I see parents putting kids in harms way all day long without so much as a thought. And then when the kid dies or is seriously injured, they can't believe it.

Since I am feeling like writing as well as enjoying my dialog with you, let me get longwinded.

Two things come to mind. I live in the middle of a hardcore, RW, ultra-Southern Baptist town. They can do no wrong. A couple weeks ago, I am at a 7-11 when a maxi-van full of church kids pulls in for slurpees. The van holds twelve seats. It's one of those that you hear about on the news... "Basketball team bus crashes, team killed". A vehicle known for rollover accidents. All the little future rightwingers getting back into this van in their shirts and ties or ling dresses. 23 kids in all. Plus the minister and his wife. For a total of 25 people in a van made for 12. Kids sitting on top of each other, no seat belts, etc.

I couldn't hold my tongue. This minister is one of those types that wants to tell me how to live. Probably the one who thought up the "Send Jesus to school with your kid" banner out front of the church. So I had words with him. He has the responsibility of 23 children and he grossly overloads a vehicle known for its instability. Had they gone down the road and crashed, should I have felt sorry for him? Should I have felt sorry for the parents who didn't check to see if their kids would be safe with this man?

The next story I relate: A grandmother (in her 40s) goes to pick up her two daughters from music lessons. These girls are under 10. As they all get in the car, the one getting in the rear seat is still not in and the door not closed when the woman puts the car in gear and drives off. She falls out and is run over and killed. The woman didn't even have the presence of mind to see if this girl, entrusted to her care, was safely in the car. Should we feel sorry for her? Maybe. I'll give you maybe but that is the best I can say.

So, she hears the girl scream as she gets killed. She stops the car. The little girl in the front opens her car door to see about her sister. As she stands looking back, with the car door open, this woman now puts the car in reverse. She knocks down the second sister because the door is open and KILLS HER TOO. TWO dead kids. Out of total ignorance. Sorry, but stuff like this makes me very cynical.

Maybe if you look at it like this, you can understand what I am saying. There's a premise here that a kid must depend on his parents to protect him/her. There's also a premise that America must depend on its leader to protect it. This is what I don't understand on DU. It's okay for a parent to forget their kid because they are preoccupied but its not okay for *shrub to forget a city when he is preoccupied. Remember, it is the same premise, just on a different scale.

[fleabert]

90. whoa.

it's gonna take me awhile to take all that in.

thanks for sharing.

I think what struck me most (as pertains to the 'debate' at hand) is the thought of what would be said about a teacher or paid caregiver who forgot a child during a field trip, for several hours...they would get fired at the least, and tried for neglect at the most probably...

It gives me pause. I don't know what the response should be or will be for these parents, but I have much to consider.

[JustSayNO 2 Sheeples]

91. Thank you for reading it with an open mind

And you are right. What is the difference between negligence by a parent or a caregiver? There is no difference.

I'm not advocating that anything happen to the parents. Things worked out, the kid was held safely by caring people until the police got there and took care of him. I seriously doubt that the kid or parents will need "therapy" like some have suggested here, or that there will be overbearing shame or guilt. In fact, years from now, they'll probably be laughing about it. It will be one of those "family stories".

[fleabert]

92. I bet the kid will feel crappy about it, but won't be permanently damaged

but seriously, if this had been the babysitter, what would the public reaction have been?

I guess I am in the same place with this as I am with adoption requirements...confused and irritated.

I have friends who are in the process of adopting a child, and the hoops they have to jump through are unbelievable, yet anyone who manages to produce a child in the womb is free and clear to have at it raising said child.

Not that I am saying we should screen parents before allowing reproduction, nor am I saying we shouldn't have processes in place for adoption, it just seems messed up, the way it's so unfairly set up now.

it's a quagmire, with no real solution or easement that I can come up with.

[yellowcanine]

67. BIG difference between leaving a baby in a closed car and what

happened here. The two situations are not comparable and to make this comparison demonstrates some lack of understanding on your part.

[JustSayNO 2 Sheeples]

70. whatever dude

The only lack of understanding on your part is the fact that some parent has failed to insure their child was safe, regardless of locking them in a hot car, letting them ride in a car without being belted, handing them a loaded gun or leaving them behind in the midst of 2 million people panicking.

Flame me all you want. How you can excuse a parent for not looking out for their kids is beyond me.

[genieroze]

53. Sounds like the movie "Home Alone".

[progressivebydesign]

66. Terribly sad. But easy to lose one kid in a five car caravan.

I'm certain that they assumed he had gotten into another car.. or he was riding in a car separate from the parents and they assumed he got in. I'm sure they're heartsick, and stuck somewhere on a freeway panicking.

[newscott]

71. I was left behind once. And we almost did it to my little brother

once too.

It happens.

Especially if you have a large family.

[Castilleja]

78. Oh god, I would walk back there if I had to!

That gives me chills to imagine.... :scared:

[Chimpeach]

79. I can't imagine.....

It breaks my heart -- the panic these poor parents are experiencing, in addition to the panic induced by the hurricane itself. I would be turning inside OUT if I were that mother. I pray that this story has a happy ending without too much therapy needed (by the boy or the parents).

[CakeGrrl]

82. He was reunited with his dad

I clicked on the original link, and the story must have been updated.

[geebensis]

83. Did they arrest the father yet?

...after all, no parent should be cut any slack, no matter what the circumstances.

Or at least that's seems to be what I'm reading from some of the folks here.

[JustSayNO 2 Sheeples]

89. yup

shrub forgot NOLA. Cut him some slack.

[Shine]

84. Jeez, that's TERRIBLE!! That poor kid is gonna need therapy...

probably the parents, too.

Talk about Abandonment issues and deep, abiding Guilt.

Sad...

~Shine