2-year-old forgotten for hours outside day care, Ohio cops say. ‘Alone in the cold’

A child was left outside an Ohio day care for nearly five hours before finally being discovered alone, police say.

The child’s mother, Morgan Higgins, wants teachers at Little Lambs Children’s Center fired following the Thursday, Dec. 7, incident, according to police in Gahanna. The day care is affiliated with Shepherd Church of the Nazarene.

Higgins said in a Facebook post she was notified that her child had been left “alone in the cold” for two hours. But when she arrived at the day care to pick up her child, she learned her daughter was actually by herself for more than four hours.

“Four hours, my tiny, innocent child sat outside, scared, in the cold,” she said.

Police said the class went to the playground at 9:05 a.m. and was there until being led back inside at 9:24 a.m. But during that time, an additional child entered the playground, altering the head count for the class.

Eleven children — the same number that entered the playground together — left with two teachers, but one 2-year-old was not included.

Video surveillance shows the girl take off her jacket at 9:37 a.m. while playing in the playground, but she soon took shelter in a playhouse, police said.

It wasn’t until 2:05 p.m. when a church pastor discovered the forgotten toddler, according to a police timeline. The girl was outside for 5 hours and had been alone for 4 hours and 41 minutes.

“(The pastor) is observed pausing in her strike, turning around and proceeding towards the playground,” police said. “(The pastor’s) written statement explained that she heard a ‘whimper’ and subsequently found (the child) crying in the playhouse.”

Police said the child was then “taken inside, given food and warmed up.”

Temperatures in the area were in the 30s and 40s during the hours in question.

Higgins said on Facebook she took her daughter to the emergency room, where doctors said she is fine physically. But the family is “traumatized,” and Higgins said her daughter will no longer attend the day care.

“James and I are beside ourselves with the ‘what ifs’ and we are struggling so hard, but we are counting our blessings and thanking God our baby is okay,” she said.

Police did not file any charges toward the day care or its workers.

The website for Little Lambs Children’s Center has been set to private.

Shepherd Church of the Nazarene lead pastor Rob Paugh said in a statement to WCMH the church will conduct an internal investigation and will provide additional training to staff members.

“Little Lambs Children’s Center is committed to providing a safe environment for the children entrusted in our care,” Paugh said. “Our prayers and deepest apologies are with the child and family who were impacted by a recent incident. We are fully cooperating with all applicable city, county and state authorities investigating the matter and will comply with their directives.”

Gahanna is a northeast suburb of Columbus.

This story was originally published December 13, 2023 at 11:47 AM with the headline "2-year-old forgotten for hours outside day care, Ohio cops say. ‘Alone in the cold’."