Mailman Rescues Massachusetts Toddler Wandering Streets After Daycare Escape

A toddler was found wandering around the streets of Massachusetts by a mailman after he reportedly escaped from a daycare.

Police were called just after 11:15 a.m. on Dec. 8 after a USPS worker found the child on a street in Salem, Massachusetts. Police said the 3-year-old opened the door of the daycare center, walked out, and roamed the streets for about 30 minutes before 911 was called.

"I just scooped him up before he got into the street over there," David Moulton, the mail carrier, told WBZ-TV, gesturing to Congress Street. “He's got no shoes and no jacket on, it's like, this isn't right. I'm wearing four layers of clothing.”

"He ran past me this way first in the park," Moulton added. "At first, I didn't think anything of it, I thought he was playing with kids or something like that, and then all of a sudden, he zipped by me again, I thought ‘He's heading to a busy street.’ He was shaking; he was shivering; he was cold."

As officers arrived at the scene, staff from Salem Community Child Care reportedly came up to them and told them that they were searching for a missing child, as reported by NBC10 Boston.

The child, identified as Damien, was taken to the hospital to be evaluated and was determined to be just fine.

"They say God's mysterious. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time," Moulton told WBZ-TV.

The 3-year-old’s family said they requested to see the surveillance footage from the childcare center and told NBC10 Boston that Damien could be seen trying to open the door for half an hour before making his escape.

"A lot of things could have happened and it's just not OK," Damien's mother Martha Esquivel told the station.

In a statement to Boston.com, Salem Community Child Care said it is “cooperating with the Department of Early Education and Care and the Department of Children & Families in their investigation of this incident. In consideration of the pending investigation and privacy of those involved, we will have no further comment at this time.”