Police: Child found in south Lansing had wandered away from babysitter

LANSING — A young boy found alone on a street in south Lansing Tuesday morning had wandered away from his babysitter, police said.

The boy, who appeared to be 3 or 4 years old, did not know where he lived, Lansing Police Public Information Director Robert Merritt said. He appeared to have autism and could not answer questions, Merritt said.

The boy spent about four hours with police, as the sitter did not appear to have seen any of the alerts about the boy having been found by police circulated by local media, Merritt said. He added the babysitter was upset over the incident.

Lansing Police went to the neighborhood where the child was found and eventually located the sitter's house.

His mother was contacted and she came and picked her son up from the police. Child Protective Services was contacted and will be doing a report, Merritt said. 

No criminal charges will be sought, Merritt said.

Contact reporter Kara Berg at 517-377-1113 or kberg@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @karaberg95.