Woman Who Left Sick Child Alone at Fairlane Mall Charged With Neglect

Dearborn police responded to Fairlane Town Center last week on reports that a sick child was alone in the mall.

Around 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 2, police were called to the mall’s lower level after a mall patron told security that she had seen a young boy sitting along for more than an hour. The boy, she said, appeared to be sick.

Police found the boy—a 5-year-old resident of Taylor—who had vomit on his hands and pants and said he was “really hungry and thirsty.” The boy told police that he had come to the mall with his aunt, who told him to sit down and never came back.

The boy, who was still ill and was unable to keep food down, was transported to Henry Ford Fairlane Medical Center.

Mall security located the boy’s aunt, who responded to the hospital around a half hour later. The woman told police that she had only been gone for a few minutes, and had been watching the boy while his mother was at work.

A friend of the woman, who was also at the mall with them, said that they had been in the upper area of the mall shopping and could see the boy the entire time.

Police questioned her statement, as neither she or the boy’s aunt came to speak with police while they were talking to the boy.

The boy’s aunt, a 20-year-old Taylor resident, was cited for child neglect, released, and advised to contact the court regarding her case.

The boy’s mother was contacted by police, and responded to the hospital to pick up her son.

For question on this report, email dearborn@patch.com.