Maintenance workers discovered a four-year-old boy inside an apartment and assumed he was all alone until they made a tragic realization.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department confirmed the boy had been alone for two days after his grandmother died.
Police have not yet revealed the identity of the woman or the child involved in the incident. The woman’s death is also still under investigation by authorities.
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By a fortunate coincidence, maintenance workers were scheduled to visit the property. Had they not, it is not clear when the child would have been found.
Maintenance workers at The Summerwood on Towne Line Apartments, on Indianapolis’ northwest side, made the discovery on December 11 when they entered the apartment in the 2600 block of Baneberry Lane to fix a window.
The news came as a shock to the managerial staff of the apartment complex and neighbors have also been left surprised.
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"I had just seen her a few days ago," Tucker Neff, one of the woman's neighbors, said. She was so sweet and nice with every interaction we had."
The neighbors also noted that over the last two days, they hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary or heard any noises from the young boy.
Staff at the apartment complex confirmed that the woman had recently filed a maintenance request to fix an issue with one of her windows.
In the early morning of December 11, the front office attempted to contact the woman to let the maintenance workers in but were unable to reach her.
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After repeated attempts to contact her, they allowed the workers inside the home. When they were inside and began working, they noticed the four-year-old suddenly step out of a room and assumed he had simply been left there alone.
However, after exploring the apartment, they found the deceased woman in her bed.
Emergency services were called in hopes of reviving the woman but she was pronounced dead at the scene, police have said.
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The boy was also taken to Riley Hospital for Children to check for any injuries and police have since confirmed that he is fine. However, they did note the Department of Child Services will be determining what happens next for the child.
UNILAD has contacted the Indianapolis Police Department for further comment.
Gerrard Kaonga