A lost little girl has been found thanks to the men and women of blue with the Kansas City, Kan. Police Department.
"It was cold outside," said KCK community police officer Elaine Moore. "We have a very safe community, but there's always the unknown. A seven-year-old child out there alone, especially if she's looking for friends - what if she finds the wrong friend. It concerns us."
But that concern turned to relief and then to heartache Wednesday when officers found seven-year-old Patricia.
The reason she didn't go home immediately after school - she wanted to find someone who'd be her friend.
"Once she got home she was crying and hugging her dog and I went over and asked her what's wrong," explained Moore. "She said she had no friends. I told her if she did not do that again and get off at the wrong bus stop that I would be her friend and I looked over to the other officers and said, 'hey guys let's be her friend.' Everyone agreed. I told her to count to see how many new friends she had and that she never had to be alone again."
A message good any time of year, but especially so in the days before Valentine's Day.
“When she didn't get off the bus I called the bus place,” wrote Cecily Gardner who said she is the girl’s stepmother. “Luckily an officer was passing through. I was scared, so was her father. [Thank you] to all officers that helped bring our baby girl home.”
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Terra Hall can be reached at terra.hall@kshb.com.
