THIS HAS MADE MY FREAKIN' YEAR

[fubar57]

This started yesterday...'I just want to hug him': Search continues for missing four-year-old boy near Mackenzie, B.C.. It's been raining constantly since then with the low overnight temperature of 8C/45F. There was a sow black bear with two cubs in the area. And now this....Missing 4-year-old boy found safe, RCMP say

 

[fubar57]

The first story may change so here's the story...

 

[mikewint]

A miraculous survival to say the least. I would suspect that the wet and cold triggered that mammalian diving reflex allowing him to survive where an adult would probably have died.
I personally don't think much of the mother. You can't leave little ones like that alone, unsupervised for any length of time. Most likely woke up, found himself alone and went looking for his mother. I hope they charge her with neglect if nothing else
Reminds me of the cretins that "forget" their infants strapped in a back car seat during +95F (35C) weather. One father "forgot" his 3YO was in the car AND "forgot" he was supposed to drop him off at day care. In 90F weather he closed and locked the car and went to work.

 

[fubar57]

The mother and family friend were 30 feet from the van

 

[mikewint]

If they were off in the bushes picking berries was the van even visible? Were they watching it or concentrating on berries.
I personally find very little reason to excuse the mothers behavior

 

[fubar57]

I drive by the area all the time Mike. You obviously don't know about blueberries or the area. The berries grow in the open by the road. The trees start about 40ft from the road. I know the mother and what the boy means to her. A momentary lapse. Perhaps find something to cut and paste about it

 

[at6]

The only thing that really matters is that the boy is safe. Can't continually watch kids and pick berries at the same time. Maybe the kid needs a leash.

 

[mikewint]

Geo, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Like at6 above I am very happy that that little boy did not pay the price for his mother's inattention.
You are correct I don't know the area but I have picked blueberries. Bushes around here grow up to 6ft (2.8m) tall and you do have to watch what you pick as unripe and even white berries occur in the same bunch. So whether the van was visible or not is immaterial he obviously opened a door and wandered away without either adult being the wiser. It certainly was not intentional and she may well be an absolutely wonderful person, but good intentions don't count. As an adult and a mother her first and primary job was the care of that child and blueberries be damned. There is no valid excuse for her

 

[Gnomey]

The main thing is that he is safe. The can be deliberated for the ages but doesn't make much difference...

 

[gumbyk]

Sorry, Mike. You're wrong...
I don't know any parent who hasn't been this far away from their sleeping child.
At 4 years old, it is reasonable to expect that a child should, if woken, call out for their parent if they can't find them, god knows they always seem to scream out at home.

 

[mikewint]

god knows they always seem to scream out at home.

I hear you brother and could not agree with you more, but a 4YO can hardly beheld responsible for making rational decisions involving his own personal risks.
He could have been following a butterfly. I've seen adults and teens get lost and turned around in the forest a half mile from their camp.
Now as to the two adults involved here, I know nothing about either of them, they both maybe the epitome of honesty and forthrightness BUT, BUT...
A woman involved in a divorce, only partial custody, custody hearing looming on the horizon, in the blueberry bushes with a "friend"...sound like motivation to, shall we say shade the truth just a bit?? Could 30ft have been 60ft?
Now again I do know how fast the little buggers can vanish into thin air. My youngest daughter was a bout 4YO and I took her shopping for groceries at the supermarket. She held my hand as we went down the isles, no problem. I stopped to check out some boxes of cereal, needed both hands, let go, 30 seconds later I turned and she was gone. I walked the store up and down every aisle, no kid, did it again, no kid, panic setting in, contacted the store manager, he a a couple of stock boys entered the search up and down the aisles calling her name, no kid. On the phone calling the Police when the manager yells out "I found her". She crawled into one of the lower shelves, pulled some boxes around her, and went to sleep!!! The manager just happened to catch sight of her foot sticking out a bit.
I've been wrong before and will be again but at times stupid mistakes and inadvertent mistakes and innocent mistakes can a do lead to serious consequences. I didn't mean it is poor recompense for a dead child

 

[fubar57]

Nice of you to put a downer on a happy event Mike. Maybe if you read my post #6 you wouldn't say 60'. Blueberries need sun, don't grow inside tree lines.

 

[gumbyk]

I've been wrong before and will be again but at times stupid mistakes and inadvertent mistakes and innocent mistakes can a do lead to serious consequences. I didn't mean it is poor recompense for a dad child

So, why criminalise an innocent mistake?
I was of the same opinion as you; then I became a stay-at-home dad. Now I understand how a parent can leave his twins in a car and forget that they were there. When my son was young, we almost left him at home, I lost him at the swimming pool when he was 2, and we had a number of other close calls. Am I a criminal? The only difference is the outcome, which was defined by luck.

 

[nsmekanik]

There are those that are to quick and to easy to stand by and "righteously" throw somebody else under the bus, usually more thoughtlessly then maliciously, that are difficult to ignore. The difficulty is to set them aside and stay focused, after all it's no ones responsibility to overcome the ignorance of others, just sayin. Please don't lose your enthusiasm.

It's always a relief to hear about a happy ending to a bad situation so please send our best The Mom who must have endured a very terrifying time while the situation unfolded, we are grateful she managed a positive outcome for her and her son, and certainly not to forget about the father in this ordeal.

All the best from Tim & Nadia






When it happens to me it's driver error, when it happens to them it's equipment failure.

 

[michael rauls]

It's true, even the most watchful parent can lose track of a child. Nobody was more worried about this sort of eventuality and more watchful than me and my first wife when the kids were little yet several times they seemed to just evaporate. Thank God they were just around the corner at Santa's Village where they ran ahead after getting off one of the rides to recall one such instance. We were watching them but as they got off the ride there was a area where we couldn't see them from where we were watching and being kids when they got off that ride they ran, out of our field of view to the next ride. Will always remember the fear in my heart upon realizing we had lost track of them.
So ya, it can happen to anyone.

 

[MIflyer]

In SC I think it was, several years back, a woman went to work, left her infant son in the car with the sunroof open and stayed gone all day. When someone found the kid in the car he was Okay but there were leaves that had blown in through the open sunroof. When asked about leaving her son in the car the woman replied that she did not have a son; eventually she admitted she did.

 

[fubar57]

In the latest news update this morning, one of the reasons it took a while to find him is, "When he got lost and heard strangers calling for him, he got scared and hid."

 

[mikewint]

Nice of you to put a downer on a happy event Mike.

Geo, not so, I have stated in every post that I am VERY happy that things worked out well for this young man. His survival was questionable to say the least. That all turned out well and he suffered no permanent injury is cause for a celebration.
What I question and what I hope the legal authorities will question are the negligent actions of the adult who was supposed to insure the safety of her child.
I also questuin the veracity of her/their story. I'm sure that the major details are correct but after the "Oh Shit" moment when you realize that the authorities are being called in the rationalization begin in the attempt to ameliorate guilt. "No my hand isn't in the Cookie Jar I was looking for the paper towels"
In addition were I the child's father I'd be in court terminating her visitation rights to supervised court visits only.

There are those that are to quick and to easy to stand by and "righteously" throw somebody else under the bus,

Not at all. Her actions are prima facie neglect, which only, by sheer happenstance did not end in tragedy. If you never render moral judgment there is no moral difference between Mother Teresa and Adolph Hitler. You must judge when the conduct violates a fundamental core ethical value and certainly the safety and well-being of an innocent child qualifies.

It's true, even the most watchful parent can lose track of a child.

Indeed but in your case how long did it take you to realize your child was gone? 10 seconds? 1 minute? 10 minutes? Try as you might, you won't be a saint but that doesn't give you any free swings. You are accountable for every choice/action you make/take. Remember we tend to judge ourselves by our best intentions and most virtuous acts but we will be judged by our last worst act.

 

[fubar57]

You are the only one questioning about the mother. RCMP and Social Services have come and gone and they were there to offer counselling.

 

[mikewint]

God bless them all. Canadians are a kind, understanding and loving people and my sincerest hope is that they are correct. And counseling and lots of it are definitely in order