We Had a 5 Year Old Cousin
…who was left behind at a laundromat once, too. In Maine.
A 6-year-old boy who was accidentally left behind by his family after they celebrated his birthday at a restaurant will temporarily remain in state custody, a judge ruled Monday.
Michael James Emanuel Jr.’s family said they accidentally left him Saturday night and didn’t notice he was missing until the next day. Each relative thought the child was with another family member, they told police.
…Diane Duvall, an attorney for the boy’s mother, Lacqetta Monroe, 23, told the judge there were 12 kids at the party at a Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurant, and as they all piled into cars to leave, the boy was simply overlooked.
The uncle and aunt unit realized their original Catholic carload of six kids was short one micro unit and turned back immediately to retrieve her. It took a while, as they’d gotten to Connecticut before the lights went on. She was still sitting patiently in the laundromat.
It doesn’t pay to be the quiet one. Of course, if they’d left her entirely, it might have.
UPDATE Major Dad says get a lawyer and sue the state. I’d sure as hell try:
A 6-year-old boy who was accidentally left behind by his mother after they celebrated his birthday at a Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurant will temporarily live with relatives while the state determines whether he can return home.
Fun | tree hugging sister | 
June 6, 2006 8:54 am
Subscribe
Didn’t somebody make a movie about this?
Smidge different ~ Kevin was home. She was left in Maine, they remembered in Connecticut and they lived in Virginia. And communication in the mid-sixties was problematic at ANY level.
I’m troubled about the State having authority to keep the kid without filing criminal charges. That’s extra-constitutional power, and it scares the living daylights out of me. One way to keep control of people is to threaten their kids, as the Soviets knew all too well.
“For the children”, John. It’s the excuse for every intrusion and errosion of rights and personal responsibility in this country.
while the state determines whether he can return home.
Hmmm, isn’t that what might get the parents in trouble? How does the state get away with it?