Missing Girl Found at Chuck E. Cheese; Parents Didn't Know She Was Gone
3-year-old Harmony has been reunited with her parents after being left behind at a local Chuck E. Cheese. Her parents say they only learned she was missing after seeing her picture on television.
Chuck E. Cheese employees say the little girl approached them, saying she was thirsty. Harmony had been attending a party with family members but gotten lost in the shuffle. Fortunately, employees stayed with Harmony until Child Protection Services arrived.
The Hartford County Sheriff's Office immediately put out a missing child report. Three hours after Harmony approached the workers, she was reunited with her parents.
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They claimed that they thought she was with other family members and did not realize she was missing until they saw the report on TV.
The Sheriff's Office released an official statement saying: "The investigation determined that Harmony was inadvertently left behind at the restaurant, by family members who thought she was in the company of other family members."
No charges will be filed against Harmony's parents, who have not been identified by the public. However, there is significant backlash by those who know the story.
"What is wrong with parents today? There is no excuse for leaving a child unattended," noted Carolyn on the Aberdeen Patch.
"As crazy as this world is in this day and age, they should be very lucky that she was found safe and sound … this could have turned out a lot worse because of their stupidity," added Alana Denise Hicks-Amoroso.
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 797,500 children are reported missing annually, which averages out to 2,185 every day. Yet this case is unusual because the parents did not even know Harmony was missing; it took a TV report for them to realize she was gone.
