FOUND: 4-year-old girl from Southwest Philly found safe
SOUTHWEST PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - A 4-year-old Southwest Philadelphia girl reported missing Tuesday has been found safe.
There were plenty of tears as 4 -year-old Isabella Wiley was passed from relative-to-relative Tuesday morning each holding her tighter than the last.
Police say this tense tale began overnight when Isabella's mother left her and a 7-year-old sibling alone inside the family's Bartram Village apartment.
"Mom claims she was hot," Southwest Detectives Lt. John Walker said. "So she got in her car and drove to McDonald's between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. to get a cup of ice. And when she returned home she did not return to the bedroom where she was sleeping with the 4-year-old. She decided to sleep in another part of the house."
It wasn't till 6:30 before mom realized her daughter had wandered off and called police. Searchers flooded the neighborhood, which is not far from the Schuylkill River and they were fearful the child had headed toward the water. However, Isabella was safe inside the apartment of neighbor Frances Marie Coles, who'd been awakened by the child outside her apartment around 4:30 a.m. Coles says she gave the little girl a snack and put her to bed.
By 8:30 a.m. the noise from police and neighbors outside awakened Coles and she walked out of her apartment with Isabella in her arms. While Isabella's mother met with police, grandma held onto the little girl as tightly as she could.
Isabella was taken to Children's Hospital to be checked out. Coles says she did not call police to report the missing child because neither she nor the man she is sharing an apartment with own a phone. Police say she should have reached out earlier but say she did the right thing in taking the little girl to safety.
The little girl's mother will not face charges for leaving her young children alone.