SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Florida — A young boy wandering alone in a park after dark stopped a stranger and told him something no child should ever have to say — that his mother had left him, and he was scared.
It was around 9 p.m. on Saturday when a man at Town Center Park noticed the 6-year-old approaching him without any adult nearby.
The boy told him his mother had left. He said he was alone. He said he was scared.
A stranger made the call that brought police to the park
The witness contacted 911, and officers from the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department arrived to find the child with no parent or guardian in sight.
The boy told officers his mother had left the park to be with a friend and get food.
He also told them something that stopped investigators — he had not eaten since breakfast.
When police asked if he wanted to wait somewhere safe, the boy said he did not want to leave with a stranger.
Officers searched the park and the surrounding area for his mother. They found no one.
His mother came back to find police waiting
Elena Sexton, 41, eventually returned to the park on her own.
Officers were there when she arrived. She was taken into custody on the spot.
After being read her rights, Sexton told police she had brought her son to the park and then gone back to her car to grab some toys. While at her car, she said she ran into a friend who invited her to get food — and she went.
She left her son at the park while she did.
The witness who first found the boy told police he believed the child had been alone for at least an hour.
Charges, bond, and what comes next
Sexton was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and charged with child neglect.
She posted a $2,500 bond and has since been released. Her next court date has not been confirmed.
The Florida Department of Children and Families has been notified and is involved in the case.
The allegations are part of an active legal process, and Sexton is entitled to due process and the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty in court.
For the park, for the witness who stopped to help, and for the little boy who told a stranger he was scared — Saturday night ended very differently than it started.
What do you think should happen in cases like this involving young children left alone? Share your thoughts in the comments.