Florida officer finds missing naked toddler wandering in road alone: Deputies

DELTONA, Fla. – Florida authorities worked to find the parents of a young girl who was found wandering naked down a Deltona road in the early morning hours. 

The Volusia Sheriff’s Office was alerted to the incident by a Sanford Airport Police officer who saw the girl in the road alone while he was traveling to work, a VSO incident report said. The officer gave the girl a towel to cover herself and contacted deputies to aid in finding the girl’s family. 

What we know:

Deputies with the Volusia Sheriff’s Office responded to Lake Helen Osteen Road in Deltona around 4:40 a.m., July 25 – speaking with an airport police officer who said he found the girl walking down the road alone, an incident report said. The officer said the girl looked to be about two-years-old, the report said. 

The officer wrapped the girl in a towel and carried her to his patrol vehicle, then contacted the sheriff’s office. 

Florida authorities worked to find the parents of a young girl, who was found wandering naked down a Deltona road in the early morning hours. (Source: Volusia Sheriff’s Office)

Shown in body camera footage, deputies asked the girl her name, her mom’s name and where she lived, but she didn’t answer. While other deputies began knocking on nearby doors to find the girl’s family, a speeding car began traveling toward the parked patrol vehicles, the report said. The car was aggressively swerving in and out of lanes, deputies said. 

Dad reports autistic daughter went missing

The driver, who identified himself as the girl’s dad, told deputies his autistic daughter was missing. 

According to the report, the dad told deputies he was asleep at home when his wife woke him up, telling him she couldn’t find their daughter. 

The mother told deputies she had put the girl to bed around 10 p.m. and later stepped out to a local gas station. Upon returning, she noticed a heavy law enforcement presence with emergency lights on in her neighborhood, prompting her to head home immediately to check on her children, the report said. 

Parents claim girl escaped through bedroom window

The mom showed deputies a small window attached to the girl’s room, suggesting the girl broke the small panel and left the home, the incident report said. 

Deputies noted that a four-foot distance from the windowsill to the ground and that the window pane was broken with several large, jagged glass edges. 

The girl didn’t have any cuts, injuries or blood on her and there were no signs of a child having fallen out of the window, deputies said. 

Investigators determined neither parent appeared to be under the influence and the home didn’t raise concerns of child neglect.