Girl, 4, dressed in diaper, found alone on North Side porch; 2-year-old alone inside

PITTSBURGH — Police said a neighbor found a 4-year-old Pittsburgh girl standing alone, wearing only a diaper, in frigid temperatures on a North Side porch Thursday.

According to police, a neighbor found the girl outside, wrapped her in a coat and called police.

Channel 11 News was there as police arrived at the Jacksonia Street home. Officers said they also found a 2-year-old girl alone inside of the home.

“They found another child inside the residence, but couldn’t find any adults,” Pittsburgh police Lt. Shirley Sloan said.

The girls' mother showed up shortly after police, reported Channel 11's Dave Bondy, and said she had just finished her shift at the casino. Bondy said the woman was visibly frightened.

The woman said the children's father picked her up from her job and then she dropped him off at his job.

Police said the father asked a downstairs neighbor to check on the girls since they were still sleeping, and at some point the 4-year-old got outside.

“He had checked on them twice, but he was also getting ready for work and wasn’t aware that one of the children wandered outside,” Sloan said.

The children, who were alone for about 20-30 minutes, are now home with their mother. Investigators said no one will be charged because it appears neither parent was negligent. The case has been handed over to Children Youth and Families.

Police said they're hoping this incident will serve as a reminder to other parents to not leave children unattended, especially during the extremely cold weather.

“You just want to make sure your kids are safe and secure. Sometimes we get lax in making things convenient for us and not realizing safety issues. Then, something like this happens, and you change to become more cautious,” Sloan said.

WPXI