Police in Council Bluffs say a three-year old was taken into protective custody early this (Wednesday) morning, after the boy was found alone, walking near the Burger King restaurant at 3209 W. Broadway Street. The incident was reported at around 5:45-a.m.  When officers arrived on the scene, the child was able to provide his first name, but not any information regarding where he had come from or why he was alone.

The boy was then taken into protective custody until a parent could be located. At approximately 8:30-a.m., the Pottawattamie County 911 Communications Center received a call from a woman who said her three-year old son was missing. Officers met with the mother and interviewed her. Police say she told them she left the child in the care of a relative in the area of 35th and 11th Avenue in Council Bluffs, at approximately 5-a.m., and went to work.

The woman received a frantic call from her relative saying that the child was missing shortly, before 8:30-a.m. A preliminary investigation indicates that the child was able to exit out of the locked residence, while other family members slept. The incident is being reviewed by the Council Bluffs Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division and DHS. Due to the ongoing investigation and the age of the minor child, no names are being released at this time.