Woman charged with child neglect after boy, 5, found riding tricycle at intersection near DeLand

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — The Volusia Sheriff’s Office said Friday afternoon that its deputies found a 5-year-old boy riding a tricycle alone at an intersection near DeLand.

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Deputies said the boy was found near East New York and Crystal avenues.

They said he was wearing a white shirt and red shorts but was without shoes.

Investigators said the boy was unable to tell them his name or address, so they canvassed the area and sent out a reverse 911 call to those within a 1½-mile radius of where he was found.

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Deputies said they eventually determined that the boy lives on Massachusetts Avenue.

“The child’s guardian last saw him prior to 2 p.m., when she told all of the kids to get into the car to go to the store,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post. “She did not notice he was not in the vehicle. When she returned home, she made sandwiches and believed he was in a bedroom.”

Investigators said that when the boy’s mother noticed he was missing, she began asking her neighbors if they had seen him.

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“She did not call 911,” the Sheriff’s Office’s post said. “The house is approximately 1 mile from the location where he was found. The guardian is being charged with child neglect and DCF has been notified.”

See a map of where the boy was found below:

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