GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — The Green Bay Police Department is recognizing one its officers for their quick actions in a suspected child neglect case after a 6-year-old boy was found wandering in a downtown parking ramp during the weekend, which led officers to find a 4-year-old girl at home alone.
Officer Kendal Herwald was on patrol assisting in the search for a driver who fled on foot during a traffic stop, when he came upon the non-verbal 6-year-old in the Pine Street parking ramp around midnight Saturday, according to a press release from the police department. Herwald brought the child to his squad car to get him out of the cold, with a recorded temperature of 20-degrees, and back to the police department where he accessed the department’s record’s management system to ID the child. Once the boy’s address was found, officers were dispatched to the child’s home to speak with the boy's mom and found a 4-year-old sibling left alone.
Police were able to contact the 25-year-old Green Bay mom, who was at a bar and claimed that she had left the children with a babysitter, who when interviewed, told officers, she was never contacted.
As a result, the mother was jailed on two charges of neglecting a child and a probation violation.
“This could’ve ended in tragedy," said Green Bay Police Commander Kevin Warych. "We must recognize our officer’s quick actions on the matter and the work by our crime analysis division to identify non-verbal residents when reported to the Green Bay Police by their family members. This resource has proven to be very useful related to this most recent incident.”
Those with non-verbal family members are asked to contact the department's non-emergency number at 920-448-3200 and ask to speak with someone who can put that person in the database. The Brown County Public Safety Communications Center also has a form on the Brown County website at https://www.browncountywi.gov/, which can be accessed by clicking on the Government section, then Forms & Documents, and searching for Special Needs Alert.
The investigation regarding this case is ongoing and no further details will be released at this time, according to police.
Those with information related to this case are encouraged to call Green Bay Police at 920-448-3200 and reference case No. 23-201040. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime stoppers at 920-432-STOP (7867). People can also submit a tip online at www.432stop.com, or utilize the "P3 Tips" app for crime tips.
