4-Year-Old South Florida Boy Has Wild Adventure

BOYNTON BEACH, FL — A 4-year-old South Florida boy began Wednesday with a wild adventure and an even better story to tell years from now. When Nasir woke up in his family's new apartment, he didn't know where he was so he went outside to look around. Being new to the neighborhood, Nasir didn't know his way back.

The child was spotted outside the Clipper Cove Apartments in Boynton Beach around 2:30 a.m. Police arrived a short time later — followed by a slew of news trucks.

"We’re trying to locate his family. Officers have knocked on every door in the neighborhood but have not found where he lives," explained Stephanie Slater of the Boynton Beach Police Department before dawn. "If you recognize him, call police immediately."

Police were planning to make a reverse 911 call — essentially a recorded message — to all of the surrounding homes if the child's family had still not been found by 6 a.m.

But fortunately, that wasn't necessary, according to Slater.

Nasir's grandmother saw the boy's photograph all over the news and made a beeline to the police department, where she was reunited with Nasir amid many tears.

"He didn't know. He wandered off," the grandmother told reporters as she made her way through the still dark police parking lot. "He just moved there less than 24 hours. His mother's on her way."

The boy's grandmother added that her daughter slept through the commotion after finishing up with her move.

"She was tired," Nasir's grandmother said through tears.

Slater said that police do not plan to file any charges against the boy's parents.

"The investigation has determined that this was accidental," Slater said. "The family moved into the apartment on Southern Cross Lane yesterday. They went to sleep, and it appears that the child woke up, was confused about where he was and wandered outside."

Nasir's family will probably need no further introduction to their new neighbors.

"Officers knocked on the front door of every apartment in Clipper Cove," according to Slater, who suggested that parents consider installing a chain lock at the top of their front doors to prevent similar incidents.

"We would definitely encourage that," she told Patch.

Photo courtesy Boynton Beach Police Department