The Taber Police Service has helped to return a young child who had wandered out in the winter weather back to his home. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko/LethbridgeNewsNOW

Taber toddler safely returned home after wandering out in winter weather

Dec 14, 2022 | 4:33 PM

TABER, AB – Taber Police Service says a young resident is back home with his parents after taking an excursion on his own.

At about 9:20 a.m. on Wednesday, Taber police were informed that a two-year-old was found wandering the street.

Sgt. Steve Meggison says the front door of the boy’s home was unlocked and the child went outside, wearing only thin white pyjamas and no shoes.

A citizen told police that they found the child in the area of Dr. Hamman Elementary School a short distance away.

The citizen took the child to their house while officers attempted to find the child’s home.

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“What we were able to do is determine where he was able to pick the child up to get them into the residence, and then we were able to find that spot and then worked our way backwards,” says Meggison.

Meggison says he is glad that there was enough snow on the ground that officers were able to follow the child’s footprints back to his home.

“It actually kind of helped that he was in bare feet because it was quite easy to track.”

Meggison adds that it was a good thing the child was found when he was because he likely would have gone into the school’s large open field, which was covered in snow.

“With the child in those white pajamas, had the child wandered deeper into the school yard where nobody maybe would’ve seen those white pajamas, it could have been a much different outcome,” says Meggison.

Other than some redness on his feet, Meggison says the child did not seem to be ill or injured in any way.

The child’s mother reportedly told police that she had no idea her child had gotten out of the house.

Especially if your child has a tendency to leave the house and wander, Meggison advises parents to ensure that their doors are locked at all times.