Police tape marks a crime scene in this file photo.JOHN LEHMANN
The little boy was cold, wet and frightened of the strangers who tried to help him. But when Lucy Ingram approached the abandoned 2-year-old at a busy intersection in Surrey, B.C., he lifted his arms to her in a mute request to be picked up.
For the next several hours, Ms. Ingram and a co-worker kept the boy behind the counter in the private liquor store while they worked, as police and social workers sought to track down his mother. Customers, when they learned why the child was in the store, returned with food and warm clothes.
It was a set of plastic dinosaurs one man brought him that finally unlocked a smile. The boy would not even speak for more than an hour, but he was delighted with the toys and announced: "My name is Dinosaur."
Witnesses said a man had struck the toddler in the face and shoved him before boarding a bus, leaving the child alone on a rainy Saturday morning. Surrey RCMP credit the efforts of witnesses who shared the boy's photograph on social media for the tip that led to the arrest of a man. The boy was reunited with his mother that night.
Ms. Ingram, whose two grandchildren are of a similarly vulnerable age, held back her tears until he was led away by a child-protection officer who finally persuaded the child to leave her side. "I bawled my face off," she said in an interview Sunday.
The child and his family have not been identified and RCMP are recommending charges of assault and abandonment against a male who was known to the boy.
"When I got to him he had on to-the-knee swim shorts, socks and shoes that were soaked, a T-shirt and a summer jacket, a tuque and one glove," Ms. Ingram said. It appears the man also left some juice boxes and an apple at the bus stop.
"I can't believe someone would discard him as garbage," Ms. Ingram said.
Her co-worker allowed the boy to play games on her cellphone and once he had been fed and was dressed in clean, warm clothes, Ms. Ingram took him for a walk to see if he could find his way home.
"When we got outside, he started to cry again. He said he wanted to see mom. He walked me through the alley, we had a police officer following behind, just in case." When it was clear the journey was aimless, they returned to the liquor store.
Surrey RCMP Staff Sergeant Joe Johal said the boy, who is about 2 1/2 years old, seemed quite happy by the time officers responded.
"He was not in any distress – he was just playing around, he wasn't aware of what was going on. A lot of citizens came and gave him clothing and stuff."
But with his limited vocabulary, he was not able to help police identify him.
A male was arrested without incident and held in police cells overnight but was released on Sunday. Police are recommending charges to Crown counsel. The investigation is continuing, Staff Sgt. Johal added. "If we can upgrade charges, we will do that."
Ms. Ingram has only worked at the liquor store for 6 months, and she was initially worried that she might be in trouble because children are not supposed to be in the work area behind the counter. But she said police asked her to stay with the boy while they tried to sort out who he was and where he lived.
She never did find out his name, but she is grateful she was able to help the traumatized boy for a short while. "I'm glad I was working then."
Justine Hunter