3-year-old boy found outside in St. Paul in subzero temperatures

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) - A three-year-old boy was found outside early Sunday morning, when the temperature was 14 degrees below zero, after he wandered away from his St. Paul, Minnesota home.

A neighbor called police after she saw the child trying to get into the Roosevelt Community Center on Ames Avenue near Hazelwood Street around 2 a.m., according to St. Paul police spokesperson Steve Linders. The boy was wearing pajamas, boots and a hat.

The boy’s mother told police she arrived home to find the front door open and her son missing from his room. She immediately began searching for him.

The woman said the boy’s father was supposed to be watching him, but while she was on her way home she had called him and he told her he would need to leave because his ride would soon be there. She was not able to talk to him further because her cell phone battery ran out of power.

Officers believe the boy decided to go outside on his own, Linders said. There was no evidence to indicate the child was being neglected.