Four-year-old found on bench returned to family

A naked 4-year-old boy who was found Wednesday on a bench near a business in Redford Township has been reunited with his father.

The boy, who is believed to be a special-needs child, had opened a locked door in his home and walked to the bench in the area of Rockland and Plymouth in Redford Township, according to Redford Township Police Lt. David Holt.

An anonymous person called police about 6:45 a.m. Wednesday morning after seeing the child on the bench, and officers went to pick him up. The boy could speak, but was unable to provide his name or other identifying information, according to police.

Holt said that at about 8 a.m. he contacted A Child Is Missing, a nonprofit group in Florida that helps reconnect missing children with their families.

The group called every landline telephone within a mile of where the boy was found. Within five minutes, a resident contacted police to tell them he knows the boy’s father. The father arrived to pick up the boy about 8:15 a.m.

Holt said it’s not unusual for children to figure out how to open locked doors and wander away.

“It’s a fairly common scenario,” he said.

“I would strongly advise someone with a child who might get away like that to have an alarm on the door,” Holt said, noting that his security company provides that service at his house. “It’s a very simple solution when you think a child might get out.”

Holt said the same types of alarms used to alert store owners when a customer enters a store can be purchased for $20 to $30. Holt said he suggested the boy’s father install a door alarm.