Young 2-year-old girl found wandering gas station with no parents in sight

28 August 2023 , 16:32

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A 2 year old was found wandering around a gas station in Union City on Sunday evening. The parents were found and are now being interviewed (Image: Union City Police Department)

Georgia police have found the parents of a young two-year-old girl who was spotted alone at a Union City gas station Sunday, reports say that authorities have brought them in for questioning.

Union City Police say that they found the young girl, who wasn't able to tell them her name, at the QUIK Trip gas station located at 4745 Jonesboro Road at 2.49pm, according to press release shared by local authorities.

The small girl was wearing a pink Mickey Mouse long sleeve shirt, pink and white leggings and pink shoes. The Union City Police Criminal Investigation Division assumed temporary custody of the child and notified the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services.

As of 10pm August 27, authorities shared that they had found the parents in question and are conducting interviews to inquire about the situation.

Missing child incidents usually goes one of two ways: the child is either found and back with their parents within hours or that child goes missing permanently (Getty Images)

According to a website that provides child safety statistics and tips on how to keep children safe, a child in the United States goes missing or is abducted every 40 seconds. The website also asserts that approximately 840,000 people go missing each year, according to FBI data - 85 to 95% of these people are children.

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Missing child incidents usually go one of two ways: the child is either found and back with their parents within hours or that child goes missing permanently. In some cases, children can disappear for an extended amount of time before being found. The AMBER Alert system, which stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response, was created after a young girl was abducted and killed.

Nine-year-old Amber Hagerman disappeared while riding her bike in Texas in 1996. Her body was found in a creek four days later by a man who was walking his dog. The website says that more than 800 children have been saved because of AMBER Alerts, which has proven the system's effectiveness in finding missing or abducted children.

Acquaintance abductions, or non-family abductions, are typically perpetrated by friends of the victims. These incidents make up 27% of all missing child cases or abductions (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The website asserts that family kidnappings make up half of all reported missing children cases in the US. These kidnapping are usually carried out by the parents, albeit these cases are typically committed by female perpetrators when compared to other kidnapping offenses.

These crimes usually happen during a family dispute, which could be a bitter divorce or intense custody battle, and usually happen to children under the age of six. Family abductions pose a tricky situation to law enforcement. The child may be unwilling to leave their abductor or other family members could be complicit in the kidnapping.

Acquaintance abductions, or non-family abductions, are typically perpetrated by friends of the victims. These incidents make up 27% of all missing child cases or abductions. Additionally, One in seven children between the ages of 10 and 18 will run away from home and young people between the ages of 12 and 17 are at a greater risk to become homeless than adults.

Mataeo Smith