A homeless man has been praised after helping a toddler to find his parents.
It's an unusual situation to say the least. The three-year-old had been dozing in the car in Florida by himself when thieves made off with the car, not realising that it had a passenger.
Reports said that the child had been left alone in the car as he had gone to sleep. His parents were quickly stopping off at a relative's house and didn't want to wake him.
Advert
Minutes after stealing the car, the thief realised that they were not alone and dropped the child by the roadside before driving off. It was there that the unfortunate three-year-old was spotted by good Samaritan Darrel Everman.
Darrel became concerned after seeing the child crying and decided to go and check on him. He comforted the child and called the police to come and help.
Speaking to ABC News, Darrel said: "I didn't see any parents around and he was crying a little bit so I thought I'd better check on him.
"I felt it was important to keep him calm so I acted as though nothing important was going on.
"I was driving to my storage unit there on State Avenue and I looked to my right and there's a child about five feet off the road.
Advert
"I knew that didn't look right. I was concerned. He looked like he needed some help, and I was glad I was there to help him."
Darrel, 57, helped police to reunite the little boy with his family.
Bodycam footage reveals an officer approaching the child, saying: "What's up, buddy? You OK? Wanna come with me, buddy? Wanna go see your mommy?"
The officer also gave the child an Elmo toy.
Advert
WESH reports that Darrel has been homeless for some time, and living out of his car. He was later invited to dinner at a community watch meeting.
He said: "I've gotten a gift certificate. They're talking about an oil change. They're going to help me find some employment, maybe."
The police chief at Holly Hill praised Everman as the definition of community watch at a meeting for the organisation.
Mum Amber Clark told NBC News: "I didn't think he was coming back."
Fortunately, officers were soon able to reunite the toddler with his parents not long after he went missing.
Advert
The suspect is still at large and authorities are still trying to trace them following the incident.
Kit Roberts