A homeless man came to the rescue of a six-year-old boy after he found him wandering the streets of Miami alone at 11 pm. This led to the child’s mother being arrested, who was unaware her son had been missing for 12 hours.
Arnett Johnson, the homeless man in question, has lived on a bench in Miami’s Allapattah neighborhood for the past six months, after he was released from prison. Johnson told WPLG that he spotted the boy at around 11 pm on April 8 at the intersection of Northwest 7th Avenue and 17th Street. On spotting the boy, Johnson said he immediately became concerned, seeing him wandering the streets alone.
“I’m looking around for the parent, but I looked and don’t see nobody, you know what I’m saying? So, what is this kid doing out here at night?” Johnson told WPLG.
He said he called the police and stayed with the boy until they arrived. Meanwhile, the boy, who has a learning disability, told the police, “Mommy dropped me off and left me.”
Homeless ex-con rescues lost 6-year-old boy he spotted wandering through Miami streets https://t.co/EIScTuOHGL pic.twitter.com/isP7MZxOYG
— New York Post (@nypost) April 13, 2026
Speaking of the vicinity, Johnson explained, ”It’s dangerous every day out here. Anyone would have done the same thing I did, you know?” he told WPLG.
Miami Police spokesman Officer Mike Vega said the intersection where the boy was found has heavy traffic. He said the child could have been seriously injured or taken by a criminal if the homeless man hadn’t intervened.
The child’s mother was later identified as Annie Rivera, 30. After an officer in the Miami-Dade School Board recognized the missing boy from a flyer, he identified his mother. The police later tracked down Rivera at a friend’s home. According to a witness, Rivera and the boy had been living with the friend for several months.
The friend told NBC 6 South Florida that she saw Rivera sleeping on Thursday morning, but couldn’t see the boy. She said she assumed that Rivera had left him with his godmother, as she had done before.
After police officers spoke with Rivera, she claimed she didn’t know the boy was missing for 12 hours, leading to her being arrested and charged with child neglect with great bodily harm.
Rivera appeared in Miami-Dade County bond court on Friday, where the court set her bond at $2,500, which she has since paid.
‘God Sent Me There’: Homeless Ex-Prisoner Saves Boy Allegedly Abandoned On Street: ‘Anybody would have done the same thing I did’ https://t.co/9ECA2aOzbH
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 13, 2026
Since then, the boy has been removed from Rivera’s custody and is in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families, pending a shelter hearing. Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy Glazer imposed strict conditions on Rivera’s contact with her son. She ordered that Rivera have no unsupervised interaction with the boy.
Moreover, Rivera was ordered not to engage in any criminal activity, use or possess illegal drugs, firearms, weapons or ammunition. She was further required to surrender any firearms she may have had in her possession.
“Right now, you have got to get it together,” Glazer told Rivera. “There was inadequate supervision, and there is probable cause, and there are services for you, and you are likely to use them.”
