WATERVILLE, Maine — A Waterville dad was summoned Thursday after his 2-year-old son was found wandering city streets for the second time in three months, according to police.
Vance Gray, 30, of Hathaway Street is facing a charge of endangering the welfare of a child after the toddler was found walking unsupervised at the corner of Front and Leighton streets, according to Deputy Chief Charles Rumsey.
“That apartment building is on a fairly small quiet side street but there are very busy streets nearby,” Rumsey said.
When Waterville police Officer Galen Estes responded, he recognized the boy from a similar incident in April, Rumsey said. A knock on the door at Gray’s apartment yielded no response. Officers entered through the unlocked door.
Inside, police found another child, a 6-month-old, sleeping on the living room floor, while Gray was also asleep upstairs, according to Rumsey. Michelle Snell, the boy’s mother, wasn’t home.
“It was a distressing case but we were lucky in the sense that Officer Estes immediately recognized the child from having been involved in the previous incident,” Rumsey explained.
The case has been turned over to the Department of Health and Human Services, Rumsey said. The boy was released to his parents’ custody after police found him.
The Class D misdemeanor charge against Gray carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail. He is due in court Sept. 18. Rumsey said it’s unknown if drugs or alcohol were involved in Thursday’s incident.
In the previous incident, the boy wandered outside in 40-degree weather without a jacket on and was found an hour later. No charges were filed in that incident.
Being the father of two small children I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt to the parent the first time this happened. Not so much the second. Obviously nothing was learned and/or changed as a result of the first incident.
This looks like a failure of the Child Welfare system in addition to the father’s failure to parent.
Because he was forgiven for the first time and it was considered a stupid mistake ? The Child Welfare system did nothing wrong. Do you know something about this family that the readers don’t ? Was the house and children in bad shape the first time and the state should have known they are bad parents ? Now, if nothing is done this time, that would be a failure. Twice is unacceptable.
I think DHHS should wait for a third or forth time myself… I mean really, after you get one OUI they really don’t start counting until the second or third OUI right?
Absolutely ! I think all kids found outside ONCE should be put into a life of foster care. The parents must be awful. I said twice is an issue so what are you on about ?
Perhaps you would be singing a different tune if this 2 year old had been hit and killed by a car or been taken by someone never to be seen again the FIRST time. Would that have worked better for you? Your hyperbole regarding foster care for this child is just that- hyperbole. Perhaps some mandatory parental 101 training for the alleged parents would be helpful….you know something like ummmm lock your doors at night, don’t have your 6 month old sleeping alone on the 1st floor on the floor- while ‘baby daddy’ is sleeping on the second floor oblivious to apparently everything, putting kid proof locks on exit doors, etc., etc. etc. Any two imbeciles can reproduce that in itself does not make them qualified to be parents….or we wouldn’t have some 410,000 children already in foster care in this country now would we?
This story doesn’t say that these kids were dirty, abused, starved, or
anything else. How about DHHS intervention with an order of parenting
classes and a set amount of time being watched over by DHHS. We don’t
know the circumstances of this, or if they are bad parents…stupid,
yes. Supervision needed yes, but you can’t just go around taking peoples
kids away. Life in foster care is such a charmed one, much better than
if these parents were given a chance. And yes, I do know what could have
happened to this child, the molesters, speeding cars and such…but it
didn’t. The police saw nothing there to make them suspect the first time
so maybe there is a very stupid reason. Maybe, like my family years
ago, they are trying to make ends meet. I worked nights and my husband
worked days. We could not afford a babysitter. I slept on the couch and
my kids played around me, one eye open most of the time but not
always…we were doing the best we could with what we had. There were
even times when I woke my husband to say I was leaving and the kids were
still up, and I had to go back and wake him again because he never got
up…hmmm. No welfare,
no hand outs, just working to get by. Was it ideal, no. Could something
awful had happened, yes, considering my son like others have stated here
, was prone to wander. Once even got out in spite of the locks we put
on, up high, out of his reach and hard to open. We were standing there
watching it happen to see how far he would get as he was in fact sleep
walking. Still does sleep walk at 26. He now is a well paid
professional. Lets get all the details before taking peoples
kids away. Also, what is up with the “Baby Daddy ” comment ?
I agree…one time could happen to anyone, two times…,we have a problem on our hands!
NICE!! Well said, TLMMSW!
Maybe the boy was making his escape. If he was older, they’d call him a chronic runaway.
Aren’t you a “no big government” guy? I’m surprised you’d advocate for the interference of DHS while advocating for those workers to lose their jobs in your next breath.
As liberals ask more of, and become more dependant on, government, for every facet of life, these types of behavior will continue to become more commonplace.
Why not blame the teachers that were supposed to instruct these individuals in child rearing as well ?
I do not know this family or the situation. Two times for a two year old to be out wandering seems like someone didn’t learn their lesson. And a six month old asleep on the floor? Hmm.
However, some kids are prone to wandering. I lived next door to a family that had to bolt the top of their doors because their child took every single chance he could to get out of the house and wander – as far away as he could get. Most two year olds do not wander that far. Shame on dad for a second time, time to invest in some better locks and make sure they are engaged.
Yes some kids are prone to wandering but to be upstairs sleeping with a 6 month old baby downstairs on the floor and another that escaped the home??? Get those children out of there.
Oh yes by all means rip those children away from their home and parents and put them into the foster system….should have been done the first time right?
^^^dripping with sarcasm^^^
My daughter slept better on the floor than she did in her crib. Does that make me a bad parent that I figured it out, and let her sleep there when I could? Granted, there are other circumstances here, but to be so quick to pull them from the home for something like that is not cool.
He should be required to go to a parenting class, invest in some locks that are high enough up on the door that the boy can’t get out, and have regular (scheduled & unscheduled) check-ins by the DHHS system for awhile. If not those guidelines, then something similar.
This has nothing to do with where the child slept better. Did you sleep on a separate floor as your 6 month old baby, while he or she was left free reign to crawl about the house if the babe woke up? For goodness sake the baby could have crawled out the door that very easily could have been left open by the sibling. They are damn lucky nothing untoward happened to either of the children. Yeah I think those kids need to be placed under the direct supervision of others until their parents face some very obvious parenting issues. Issues that could kill their kids.
I’m not sure if you read the part of my comment that said, “Granted, there are other circumstances here…” or not, but that meant that I knew the two weren’t 100% comparable.
Trust me, there are other children living with abuse, in squalor, and worse things that DHHS don’t find a high priority. I think that with the right guidelines set in place (as I stated earlier, if you read the entire thing, you would have seen it), this family can EASILY rectify the situation and lead happy lives.
Ripping a family apart for something that can be easily taken care of (provided the adults want to take care of it) is wrong. If the adults decide that they don’t want to, then yes, place them with someone who does.
My oldest loved to wander just after we went to bed, so we put high mounted locks on the doors and more. They are more creative than you’d think, so you do what ya gotta do.
It’s time for this guy to literally wake up!
so the 6 month old was asleep on the floor, the other child was found wandering around, again. Dad is sleeping upstairs probably in a bed. Anyone could wander in off the street and abduct the children. He needs to lock his doors so the child cannot get out and put a gate across the stairs and keep them upstairs with him.
Maybe he works nights? BUT still, this family either needs help with the kids so he can sleep or these kids need to be placed in foster care before some weirdo picks up the wandering boy and he is never seen again or something happens to the 6th month old. Sad situation.
ahh tough one.
When you plant your garden you have to be willing to weed and hoe it until it reaches mature and ripe stage
I am sorry, but I cannot understand why the child was given back again to his parents when this has happened two times. These children are obviously in a dangerous situation where their well-being is at risk. Both children NEED TO BE IMMEDIATELY removed from these parents care. This shows a lack of common sense on someones part.
Where to put them? Oh yeah how about our wonderful foster system. No children ever die there.
Why removed immediately? We have no idea about anything else of this situation. Some kids are CRAZY about trying to get out of the house. It does sound as though there are some parenting skills to be learned here – but goodness gracious, let’s assume and hope we don’t know the whole story and this man will learn his lesson and become a better parent for it.
Ok all of you people against removing these children immediately from this home…did you even read the article????? Number one: this toddler has wandered outside the home unattended TWO times already. (locks should have been installed after or even before the first time. ) Number 2: it is never safe to leave a 6 month old baby sleeping unattended on a floor DOWNSTAIRS while you sleep UPSTAIRS. (thats why cribs were invented) Number 3: It its never safe to leave a 2 year old unattended while you sleep. Either or both of these children could have been kidnapped, injured or died due to this dads negligence not just ONCE, but TWO times. These children cannot afford to wait around while their dad takes parenting classes. Parenting classes dont teach common sense…you either have it or you don’t.
Agree! And, I guarantee you a lack of common sense isn’t the only issue going on here. Read…drugs and/or alcohol abuse, too.
What a disgusting visual…a 2yr. old outside alone on the streets (AGAIN), and a 6 month old asleep on the FLOOR!! WOW. There is NO acceptable excuse for either. Somebody please step in and help these innocent children.
No excuse for a child falling asleep on the floor??? What is so wrong about that? Are you seriously that uptight?
6 month old child should not be left on the floor like a toy or a rug, what if they had a dog, the child could be smothered or worse…
Exactly Right! What if the older child decided to play “lets jump over baby” and jumped on the baby’s stomach…or decided to pick the baby up and dropped it…..it is NEVER ok to let a baby sleep on the floor unsupervised. Do they deserve to have the kids taken away….if these are the only two incidents no IMO, but they most certainly should be supervised going forward for a period of time. They should also be investigated to see if there have been other incidents that are unknown to law enforcement or DHHS.
It’s a 6 MONTH old BABY!!!!! That IS WRONG!!!! And…the only “adult” around was upstairs ASLEEP! I would NEVER do that. You can says that’s uptight all you want. I call it GOOD parenting.
I agree with you. I am only GUESSSING, but something tells me the baby was not laid to sleep on the floor. Poor little sweet thing was probably left there and fell asleep on his/her own. This whole situation seems sad, it is my hope that DHHS does something. If Dad works nights and sleeps during the day (which I would understand, providing for his family) they need to find a better childcare solution while Dad sleeps.
My children often CHOOSE to sleep on the floor in the summer….. Admittedly they are both older than 2.
a 6mo old child is defenseless. Unable to protect themselves or move about. My children have fallen asleep on the floor as well, but when I go to bed they go to their beds and the doors are locked
But Gosh haven’t you ever fallen asleep by accident? Two year olds are strenuous.
Do you literally lock their doors?
Then why are you bothering to comment on my comment? My statement regards a 6 MONTH old baby!
’cause I felt like it!
DHS alerted…also since when can police enter your house without just cause?
I would say bringing back a child that was found in the street and having no one answer the door is a good reason to make entry. There was no way to know if anyone was in there to speak with about the situation and when no one came to the door I would think at that point a well check on the house would have been just. You know, because most people don’t have there children wandering at 2.
I think taking a baby back home is “just cause” don’t you?
Do you suppose returning a baby is “just cause.” suppose the parent had been shot, had a heart attack, was drunk? Finding a wandering 2-year-old is just cause in my estimation.
The entrance issue would pertain to “probable cause” which in this case would probably be: to gain access to the unresponsive “parent or guardian” (so-called), regarding the reckless endangerment of a dependent child by someone who was -previously known- to the police for the -same- reason.
Is there some difficulty with the comprehension of that particular criminal liability?
What has to happen before these children are removed from their parent’s custody?!? They are obviously not able to care for them….
hmmmmm! what are they (DHS) waiting for to remove the 2 babies from neglect and a dangerous environment?
DHHS is damned if they do and damned it they don’t. I’ve heard complaints when people think DHHS steps in too soon and then when they step in to late. This case does need to be investigated further and the parents need parenting classes and need to learn how to keep a toddler from roaming about. If one parent works days and one nights they need to get someone to watch the children for a while during the day.
For Gods sake, quit arguing about who’s right and whose wrong! Be thankful this little one is OK, again—If the caregivers can’t stay awake, find someone to watch over these little ones that can—And that does not mean turning them over to DHHS, even tho I agree that once is enough!,
I see this is the second time for this child,I’m not sure who was looking after the child on the first occassion but after the first time,safety latches should have been installed.Also on the related stories why wasn’t the first story included,I think the first story qualifies as a related story.I’ll have to do my own search to find out who was responsible then,glad DHHS was notified,somethings definitely wrong here.
He was released back to the parents?! why would they do this? are they just waiting for something WORSE to happen!? wow, go Maine!
Yeah, you never parented an active 2-year-old. Suppose dad was on the night shift? Suppose the boy never sleeps? Things like this happen to GOOD parents. Sometimes locks, window screens, and/or baby monitors do not help.
actually I have 2.5 year old. I would never leave the 2 children alone while I slept UPSTAIRS. there is no reason that is justifiable for that. find a way to stay awake or ask for help.
Yeah Yeah Yeah You are mother of the year and everyone who makes a mistake is Satan. I’ve got it.
I’m not saying this man is Satan. he made a mistake, yes. but after it happened once, I would take every precaution to make sure it didn’t happen again. I understand napping while children nap, I get that. but make sure that you are within ear shot of them at all times. I am not mother of the year, but I have common sense.
Maybe I was a bit harsh. After all, I don’t know you…You may in fact be mother of the year. All I know is what I experience. I had a two who could open locks, silence door alarms, and push through window screens. Of course that was back in the early nineties when neighbors offered to help, rather than call the cops.
One elderly women even volunteered to sit with my child, while I copped a few winks. She’s the one who taught me the baby-monitor trick. Duct tape it to the ceiling so he couldn’t turn it off! Without her I don’t think I would have made it.
I sure as hell wasn’t father of the year.
Well I appreciate that Mark.. glad you found a way to make it work.
This certainly leads a sane person to wonder. Here we have a 2 year old child, twice found walking down the street in Waterville, his father guilty of neglect, yet nobody is abducting this child thank the good lord. It leads you to wonder why, if a young little girl like Ayla can be abducted the way that Justin Dipietro keeps saying she was, then how praytell was this little boy spared in the scary city of Waterville? Thank god the boy was found safe, lets pray that the DHHS services put this child in state custody until the father can get some parenting classes under his belt.
Maybe the mother was in Rehab?
Neglect~ anyone remember the mom recently who “took a nap”(for 3plus hours) only to find her 2 toddler children dead in a neighbors pool ~ if you have a child who you know wanders you’ve got to be truely ignorant not to have doors that lock~ great job law enforcement leaving the children home with parents who nap the day away and dont see the kids are safe~hmm how bout leaving w/a grandparent or something on an emergency order until dhs comes by again,,,
anyone remember the same type of incident in Fort Fairfield a few years ago??? The little girl ended up in the river the second time because she was released back to her mother the first time..
no it happend twice before she went missing :( sad but very true
As the parent of now teen aged boy, who wandered when he was 2-3, even into other peoples’ houses, if they were unlocked, I have a tip.
After the first time my son got out, I started bolting the door. One afternoon, I came out of the shower to find the door, unbolted and open, (a chair nearby) and my son was gone. I quickly dressed and was able to retrieve him in a minimal amount time, but he had yet gone into an unoccupied home.
After doing some research, and finding I could not afford a home security system, that would have been ideal, I found a travelers’ door alarm. I hung it from a nail placed high up on the door and when the door was opened a loud, screeching siren sound was emitted that I could hear even over the shower. (At the time, I was a single parent, working a 4-midnight shift at a prestigious print company in Boston with a decent salary to support my son and his older sister.) That alarm cost $5.00 and was the best investment I ever made. This is a good solution for homes that have elderly wanderers, especially at night.
That is what I had to do with my son. That kid would get a chair or anything else he needed to get out. Those magnetic alarms are great. As soon as the connection was broke the alarm went off. In his case I put it on the front door and after a while he figured out how to shut it down as well ! That kid was so hard to contain, now he is the most passive, relaxed person you will ever meet…go figure
That’s a great idea! What a wonderful person you are to share ways to prevent a child who likes to run from doing it, rather than attacking the father. Who knows what the circumstances were. We only know what the BDN is reporting.
All i can say is the last time i heard of an incident like this, baby girl ally~ went missing in the Aroostook River…. hopefully DHHS learned from that and this munchkin wont get out again~ ugh, scary, but glad the lil man is ok~
Waterville: Land of Little Wanderers, apparently. At least this one didn’t disappear permanently.
Ok, here’s a question- what time of day did this occur? It doesn’t say in the article.
What if it was early morning. The 2-year old woke up, retrieved the infant from the crib, and went downstairs while Dad was still in bed. I have a friend whose 3 year old does that, but he brings the baby into Mom’s bed and they settle in for morning snuggles.
‘
Maybe dad didn’t go take a nap the way everyone wants to believe. Maybe he hadn’t woken up yet for the day, because the kids didn’t make any noise when THEY woke up.
i read locally 11 am
It doesn’t say that in tjis article. Can you share where you read it please? I’d like to read that article too.
If it did happen that late in the morning, then obviously my previous comment would’t apply. I was just offering another possible scenerio, as this article doesn’t give the time of day info.
I’ll be honest, i read so much news Im not sure, but chances are I read it in the morning sentinel. It said 11 am……
I just reand the Morning Sentinal’s article. 11ish is what I read there too. Thanks for directing me there!
This kid must have an angel on his shoulder. He could’ve been in an accident or snatched off the street. I hope the family installs a dead bolt on the door high up where he can’t reach it….and I hope they use it.
Otherwise, this boy will just keep getting out.
Ok all of you people against removing these children immediately from this home…did you even read the article????? Number one: this toddler has wandered outside the home unattended TWO times already. (locks should have been installed after or even before the first time. ) Number 2: it is never safe to leave a 6 month old baby sleeping unattended on a floor DOWNSTAIRS while you sleep UPSTAIRS. (thats why cribs were invented) Number 3: It its never safe to leave a 2 year old unattended while you sleep. Either or both of these children could have been kidnapped, injured or died due to this dads negligence not just ONCE, but TWO times. These children cannot afford to wait around while their dad takes parenting classes. Parenting classes dont teach common sense…you either have it or you don’t.
OMG RU KIDDING ME?? My husband & I tried for 8 YEARS to have a baby, I finally had one and lost one to a miscarriage and had another stillborn :( We would have LOVED to had several children, but thankful for our healthy girl. What makes me sick is people like this that have them left and right and obviously have no clue or appreciation for these little precious gifts from above!!! They do not deserve these children and I would hope after this time they get taken away. There are MANY loving adults out there who would take them in.
A 6 month old left on the floor sleeping, a 2 year old wandering alone on the streets ( for the second time), while Dad is sleeping. Unfit parent, and that is being generous. The mother is just as much to blame. Two strikes and you’re out…
I’m curious to know what time of the day or night this incident happened. Surprised that information wasn’t included in the story.
The lack of that info surprised me too. That right there could change the dynamics of the situation. It may not, but it’s possible.
DHS is completely incompetent and possibly just as negligent as the dad
OMG this is just crazy. I can’t believe they gave this child back to this incompetent father. I remember the incident in April and this child beat both possible death and abduction twice now. If the father is that lazy he could at least lock the door, not that a child unsupervised in a home is safe either. WOW what’s it going to take???