Little Girl, 3, Found Alone in the Street After Wandering Away from Day Care: Cops

The proprietor ran the day care from her home and neglected to wake up her children to keep an eye on the girl.

A little girl was found wandering the streets of a California town Monday after police say the proprietor of her in-home day care center left the premises with the child unsupervised.

Just before 6 a.m., cops in La Mesa got a call from a citizen who'd found a 3-year-old girl wandering in the road. 

Read: Mom Charged With Child Neglect After Toddler Is Found Wandering Streets in a Diaper

Officers took the girl into custody and began canvassing the area in an attempt to find out where she'd come from.

For several hours, police officers and detectives knocked on doors of nearby residences.  At around 9:30 a.m., detectives knocked on the door of a residence where an adult female identified the child as belonging to their in-home day care center. 

During the investigation, police say they determined the little girl was dropped off at the day care by her mother that morning. The proprietor of the day care then reportedly left the home under the belief that the girl was being cared for by her own adult children.

However, the girl was unsupervised and managed to wander away from the home through an open door, cops say.

Read: Girl, 3, Found on Her Own Outside Apartment Tells Cops: 'I Need a Beer'

To the relief of everyone involved, the girl was not harmed while out wandering and has been reunited with her mother.  

Police said the day care operator could face child endangerment charges. The incident is still under investigation. 

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