Jennifer Vazquez

Father of 5-Year-Old Boy Found Wandering Bronx Streets Alone Arrested

The father, who has full custody of the child, has not been identified and charges were pending

What to Know

  • Police say they have arrested the father of a 5-year-old boy who was found wandering the streets of the Bronx Wednesday morning alone
  • Police were made aware of the boy walking alone around 10:45 a.m. near East 167th Street and Webster Avenue
  • A 1-year-old boy was also found in the streets of Newark in the morning, and was taken to the hospital for evauluation

Police say they have arrested the father of a 5-year-old boy who was found wandering the streets of the Bronx Wednesday morning alone. 

Cops were made aware of the boy walking alone around 10:45 a.m. near East 167th Street and Webster Avenue. A woman found him and dropped him off with nearby officers, and a witness said the child was in good spirits.

Two hours after he was handed over to police, the child's grandmother went to the 42nd precinct's stationhouse to report that the child was missing. Three hours after that, the boy's father was finally located Wednesday evening.

The boy was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital for evaluation, according to the NYPD. He is healthy and in the custody of Children's Services.

Surveillance video showed the little boy wearing a blue long-sleeve shirt, grey jeans and black sneakers, talking to police. 

The father, 51-year-old William Asamoah, who has full custody of the child, was charged with attempted abandonment of a child and attempted endangering incompetent, according to police.

Also on Wednesday, police in Brooklyn found another boy about the same age wandering around on Crown Heights streets. The little boy was non-verbal and found in the street around Buffalo Avenue and Park Place after 5 p.m.

Thankfully in that case, the child was reunited with his parents about an hour later. No charges had been filed, and an investigation is ongoing.

That child was actually the third found wandering streets alone in the tri-state on Wednesday.

A 1-year-old boy was also found in the streets of Newark in the morning, and was taken to the hospital for evaluation before being reunited with his parents. Police are investigating that case as well.

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