No Charges Filed Against Parents Who Left Toddler In Mexican Restaurant Unattended For 9 Hours

A toddler was left in a Mexican restaurant in Aurora, Colorado for nearly nine hours. However, police say they are not filing charges against the parents and are chalking the incident up to an error in communication between adults in the family.

CBS 4 reports that a toddler was left in the Los Toritos Restaurant on Sunday afternoon. Employees of the restaurant say that after the family who was seated at the table left, the toddler remained. Another family was then seated at the table and informed the hostess that the child did not belong to them. The restaurant staff searched for the child’s parents, but they were nowhere to be found.

The restaurant owner, Ramona Castro, says that they waited for 45 minutes before calling the police in hopes that the child’s parents would return. However, after there was no word from the parents, Castro called the police. The police took photos of the 2-year-old girl and plastered the on social media and on local news stations in hopes of identifying the child.

Castro says that the young girl came into the restaurant in a party, which included four children and five adults. However, Castro says he did not know if any of the adults in the party were the parents of the girl or not. Castro says it is hard to understand why a child that young would have been left unattended for any period of time.

“I don’t understand because I have daughters and I can’t leave them alone, not even two minutes. It’s hard to think about.”

According to News 9, nearly nine hours after the child was reported as abandoned in the restaurant, the parents were identified. The police say that no charges are expected to be filed against the parents as they feel the incident was the result of serious miscommunication between the adults in the restaurant party.

“They were questioned by investigators Sunday night. The parents went to the police after discovering a shared Facebook post claiming their daughter was abandoned. No additional details about the circumstances of the miscommunication were released.”

With the police simply noting “miscommunication” as the cause of the incident, no one is for certain exactly why the child was left alone for nine hours. However, it would appear that there was confusion in the party over who was supposed to take the child home with them that day. Despite the ordeal, the restaurant owner says the child was in good spirits while at the restaurant and never seemed upset or frightened.

Do you think charges should be brought against the parents or is miscommunication a sufficient excuse for leaving a 2-year-old child unattended for nine hours?

[Image Credit: Aurora Police Department]