Mom Abandons Toddler, Leaves Him In Wal-Mart

FRANKFORT, Ind. -- A mother abandoned her 2-year-old boy in a Wal-Mart store, leaving him with a backpack full of toys, a bottle and a note explaining why she could no longer care for him.

The mother said in a message written in Spanish that the father had left her, according to Frankfort police.

The note said the boy's name is Martin and that the family moved from Guatemala about a year ago, 6News' Tanya Spencer reported.

"She has no food, no place to live and no job and her son was starving," said Rosa Martinez, who spoke with the boys. "It was very upsetting, the letter."

Store employees brought the boy into their security office after they found him wandering around Friday afternoon.

Several attempts to locate his mother over the loudspeaker were unsuccessful.

Martinez translated the letter for store employees and called for the mother in both English and Spanish. She also tried to talk to the boy, who wasn't crying but wouldn't speak.

"I said, 'Where's mommy?' in Spanish and he looked at me. He didn't move or nothing," Martinez said. "I've seen 2 year olds. The communicate and they're very active. He was not even moving, not making facial (expressions) -- nothing."

Child Protection Services is caring for the boy, and police are trying to find the mother. Officers are watching surveillance camera recordings and looking for witnesses who saw the woman at the store.

Police said they aren't sure if the message in the note is true. They are checking the missing persons database.

"This boy could actually be a missing boy from another jurisdiction," said Frankfort police Detective Jeff Ward. "Maybe this person's not related to him at all."

Martinez, a mother herself, said she hopes the boy's family, past and heritage won't be lost forever.

"He won't remember anything because no pictures, no last name," Martinez said.

Frankfort's Hispanic community is working closely with police, but no one claimed to have seen the boy before.

Police said the note indicated the mother was not from the area and did not plan to stay.