When a young child was reportedly seen wandering alone outside in Florida, a police officer knew just what to do. Officer Brandon Miller of the Miami Beach Police Department responded with other officers to multiple reports of a child alone and crying in a building on Ocean Drive. Miller comforted the 2-year-old girl while investigators attempted to figure out why she was alone.
According to NBC 6, the girl’s parents, Daryl Lents, and Ciera Hurd, allegedly left four children alone in an apartment they rented in South Beach while they went out to party. The parents reportedly told police that when they left on September 9, their 12-year-old was awake while the 11-, 5-, and 2-year-old children slept.
Police arrested the parents and took the children into the care of the Department of Children and Family while they investigate the case. Thankfully, the children are all OK.
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The parents were in Miami to celebrate multiple birthdays.
Lentz and Hurd brought their family from Baltimore to Miami, for a fun getaway that took an unfortunate turn, NBC 6 reported. Miller and other MBPD officers responded to a call in the early morning hours on September 10. Miller told the news station it was a sad scene.
“The little girl was just in her pamper and swimsuit top, completely soaked when we found her,” Miller said. “The person we received the call from actually works security across from the building and he said he could just hear her screaming, screaming, ‘Mama, papa.'”
Miller went into 'dad mode.'
The officer said he thought about his own children and knew what he needed to do.
“I have a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old at home, and I guess I went into dad mode. I saw her, and I thought about my son. I thought about my daughter,” he explained.
Bodycam footage shows Miller approaching the young girl and asking if she is all right before eventually picking her up and searching the apartment complex for her parents.
Lentz and Hurd allegedly went out clubbing and left the children alone for more than four hours.
DCF took the children into custody.
The parents are apparently devastated by what happened. They told NBC 6 that they are good parents who had made a bad choice.
“It was a small, tragic mistake that I’m really hurt about and I don’t know what to do,” Lentz said. “We’ve been doing a lot of crying, a lot of crying, every time we see pictures we cry.”
Hurd added, “We are really good parents, we are good people. We don’t leave our children, this is not a regular thing for us.”
A judge gave the parents visitation rights while their children are in DCF custody.
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This situation could have been so much worse.
Leaving four young children unattended in a strange city could have led to a devastating end for the family. Thankfully, they are fine. Miller said the situation was disappointing.
“I understand you want to come to Miami Beach on vacation, you want to have fun, but if you have your kids, obviously they take priority,” he said. Lentz and Hurd were charged with neglect and will appear in court next month, NBC 6 reported.
