Toddler Found Abandoned Near SR-76 In North San Diego County

SANTA YSABEL, CA – A toddler was found wandering Wednesday morning near State Route 76 in North San Diego County, authorities confirmed to Patch.

A contractor working for San Diego Gas & Electric found the 2-year-old boy shortly before 8 a.m., according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. He was located a quarter-mile east of The Round Up Grill, formerly the site of the Lake Henshaw Cafe, in Santa Ysabel.

Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the scene along with Cal Fire San Diego firefighters, who performed a medical evaluation and released the toddler to the sheriff's department.

The child seemed to be healthy, sheriff's Lt. Matthew Glisson said.

"It looks like it was just a walk away from a home, and the mother showed up and met them there," he said. "The mother has the kid now."

According to Glisson, deputies at the scene confirmed that the abandoned toddler did not fit the description of the abducted child at the center of an early-morning amber alert in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties.

Los Angeles police believe the 15-month-old in that case, Noe Reyna, was taken by his father from the Boyle Heights area and could be on his way to Mexico.

"There were a lot of reports that it might have been related to the amber alert that came out of LA. It was not related to that," Glisson said.

Sheriff's deputies did not initially believe there was anything suspicious about the incident in Santa Ysabel, but deputies are mandated by law to report the incident to Child Protective Services, Glisson said. The state social services agency will conduct a follow-up investigation to ensure the child is safe.

City News Service contributed to this report.