If there ever was a mother’s worst nightmare, but child’s dream come true, it happened this week in Lincoln, Neb.
Three-year-old Kael Ireland managed to slip out of his apartment while his mom was in the bathroom on Monday night. And, what’s a toddler on the town to do? Make a beeline for the biggest concentration of toys, obviously.
According to Lincoln police, Kael walked across the street to a bowling alley. He then climbed up the big claw machine shoot, which is described as the size of a mailbox opening. At that point, a customer took notice and informed bartender Rachell Hildreth.
“He was just having a heyday,” Rachell told Lincoln Journal Star. “I don’t think he wanted to get out.”
In the meantime, Kael’s mother noticed her son was missing and frantically called police. Officers were quickly able to reunite the mother and son, who was allowed to keep a purple teddy bear from the claw machine. Lincoln police didn’t cite the mother for child abuse or neglect.
“It was the most scared I’ve ever been. I’m just happy we found him safe,” mother Ashley Ireland said, explaining her son recently learned how to unlock the front door but never left the home before. She’s since requested the landlord install a door jam chain so this doesn’t happen again. “That’ll keep him contained a little bit in the future… Hopefully.”
