Child Found Wandering Neighborhood Overnight Reunited with Mother

A 5-year-old wandering neighborhood streets overnight in Norcross has been safely reunited with her mother.

Gwinnett County police determined that the incident was "more a matter of unfortunate circumstances than anything criminal," a press release stated. So, there are no charges pending

Police were first called to the 800 block of Heritage Valley Road in unincorporated Norcross just before 3:30 a.m. Sunday. A concerned citizen had observed the child outside alone.

The little girl told the citizen "that the door was open at her house, and she walked out," according to the press release. She could not provide her address or any other information.

The citizen called 911, and Gwinnett County Police Department responded.

The press release then states:

The child was able to provide very limited information to police in English or Spanish and so police had to begin utilizing available resources in order to determine to whom the child belonged and where she lived.

For several hours police canvassed the immediate area, checked vehicle registration information and used Reverse 911 to help locate the child’s family. After initial attempts were futile to identify and locate the girl’s family, she was brought to GCPD’s Central Precinct, and DFCS was called to assist.

At around 7:30 a.m., a family member called GCPD and was able to put authorities in contact with the child’s mother. It appears that the child was spending the night with a relative when she wandered out and away from the premises.

Police and DFCS are continuing to look into the incident, but there does not appear at this time that there was any criminal intent or acts of gross negligence present.

"Thanks to the diligent actions of a concerned citizen and responding officers, this incident had a positive ending," police said.