Shoeless Salem 3-Year-Old Found Wandering Near Palmer Street: Police

SALEM, MA — Salem police are investigating how a 3-year-old boy wandered away from his daycare center in the city with only socks on his feet and was found alone by a mail carrier in the area of Palmer Street on Friday morning.

Police said the mail carrier kept the boy — who was also wearing a long-sleeved shirt and sweatpants — "safe and called police" before the child was taken to Salem Hospital for evaluation as a precaution.

Police said an investigation showed the boy had opened a door of Salem Community Childcare Inc. on Congress Street and walked out at about 10:30 a.m. — about 30 minutes before he was found four blocks away.

Police said that while they were at the scene where the boy was found they were approached by Salem Community Childcare Inc. staff, who were looking for a child who had been in their care.

The boy's mother and father told WFXT-TV that they were contacted that morning and that police told them to go to Salem Hospital where they were reunited with their son in the presence of police, a doctor and a pastor who were there waiting. The parents told the station that surveillance video showed the boy was unsupervised, and repeatedly tried to open an outside door for several minutes, before making his way out of the daycare.

Police said a report was made by officers to the Department of Children and Families, which will work in conjunction with the Massachusetts Department of Early Education to investigate the incident.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)