‘I just tried to do what I could’: Grand Rapids man finds toddler wandering downtown at night
By Marisa Oberle
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GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (WXMI) — A toddler is back home after a Grand Rapids man found her wandering on the city’s southwest side early Sunday morning.
Gabe Botello, who works for Villa Pizza and has seven children, says he was in the middle of a delivery around 3 a.m. when he saw a young girl running around the McConnell parking lot near the Downtown Market.
“I had people’s food, so I ran to the door and I gave them their food,” said Botello. “I went back looking for her [and] I didn’t find her, so I got in my car, I drove around for a minute. I didn’t find her [so] I started pulling into parking lots.”
He eventually spotted the girl, who Grand Rapids police say is around 3 years old, at a factory across the street. She was curled up between two cement blocks and wearing nothing but a t-shirt, diaper, and socks.
Botello wrapped her in a hoodie, then called 911.
“I had some water in my car, so she was drinking some water and I was just kind of like rubbing her back, letting her know she was okay and she started falling asleep,” said Botello. “She was so just like exhausted and cold.”
When officers arrived, they managed to make contact with the little girl’s mother, who didn’t realize she was missing and thought she was asleep.
It’s unclear how the toddler got out or for how long, but GRPD believes it was an accident.
Botello says he cannot imagine how her parents feel, but wants them to go easy on themselves.
“I don’t think it was anything purposeful, nobody just lets a little kid out. It’s just sad,” said Botello. “I just tried to do what I could. I assume somebody would do the same for my kids.”
Botello added that rather than cast judgment, he hopes this incident pushes people to offer help in someone’s time of need.
“Sometimes you want to turn a blind eye but, you just never know [who] you’re saving,” said Botello. “Anybody could have picked up that little girl. In the middle of Ionia and Wealthy is not the best part of Grand Rapids, there’s a lot of foot traffic over there, so, you know, I’m just glad she made it home. I’m glad she’s okay.”
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