A Bowling Green mom was cited for child endangering and taken to Wood County Jail after police spent nearly two hours searching for family of a young boy found walking barefoot near the roadway.
BG Police were called Tuesday (Nov. 2) around 5:09 p.m. to the 900 block of South Main Street, for report of a small unattended child attempting to run toward the street. The boy, who was barefooted, wearing a Spiderman shirt and sweatpants, was uninjured.
Officers checked for parents of the 4-year-old in nearby apartments, but could not find anyone who knew the family. Wood County Job and Family Services was contacted.
The boy was able to give police his first name, but no more.
Over a two-hour period, police kept the boy occupied. He said he was hungry, so police got him a McDonald’s Happy Meal. One officer watched cartoons with the boy in a patrol car.
Police dispatch reported that a female in that area had been cited for child endangering on Dec. 1, 2025. Officers were able to locate a family friend, who met police at the family’s new apartment.
When the family friend arrived, she found the apartment door unlatched and the mom, Emily Taylor, 30, sleeping – reportedly unaware that her child had left the home. She told police she needed sleep for work, and must have forgotten to lock the door.
The boy was released into the care of the family friend, with the mom’s approval.
