Toddler Reunited with Mom After Wandering Wal-Mart Parking Lot

A 2-year-old boy found wandering around Pleasanton's  parking lot early Thursday morning was reunited with his worried mom about 6:30 a.m. according to the Pleasanton Police Department.

A store manager on a break found the child, wearing just a diaper, about 3 a.m. and called police.

Police took the boy into protective custody, said Sgt. Maria Munayer, who described the child as friendly but unable to identify himself or where he lived.

"We couldn't get him to say his name, but he could say he wanted some McDonald's french fries," Munayer said, referring to the fast food store inside the Wal-Mart.

About 6 a.m., the child's frantic mother called 911 to report her son missing, and police put two and two together.

The two, who were not identified, live in the  apartment complex, a community in which many families with children live, according to resident Margaret Forni.

"It's a nice, safe community so this all sounds like a total accident to me," she said. 

The complex is across from Wal-Mart on Owens Drive, a street that is normally packed with traffic during the day but quiet overnight.

"This could have been a whole lot worse," said Wal-Mart shopper Linda Saunderson. "I'm also a mother of an infant, so the biggest relief is that the child's back home, safe and sound." 

Police inspected the apartment and said that because the front door was compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act standards, the handle was more accessible to the child. In addition, the deadbolt was able to be opened by turning the doorknob.

Apparently, the mother and son had just moved there and the mother was in the process of changing the locks, Munayer said.

No charges are being filed and the incident is considered an accident, she said.

"It's important to remember even a 2-year-old can get away," she said. "We are thrilled that he wasn't injured."