Parents of toddler wandering alone on Gardena playground found

GARDENA, Calif. (KABC) -- The parents of a toddler found wandering alone on Denker Avenue Elementary School's playground in Gardena on Thursday have been located, authorities said.

Within about an hour in police custody, the boy was identified and was in the process of being reunited with his family.

Police said it appears the babysitter, who was in charge of picking up other children at the school, didn't account for him when she left.

The boy, believed to be between 2 and 3 years old, was found alone shortly after 2:30 p.m. at the school playground near Gardena and Denker avenues.

Police said nobody in the area recognized the child, who wasn't able to give his name and is too young to go to the school.

Gardena police were going door-to-door trying to identify the boy or his guardians.

Officers said they were making sure the proper steps were being taken so that the same mistake won't happen again. They added that they were glad the incident resulted in a happy ending.