GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — The Green Bay Police Department is recognizing one of their officers for their quick actions in a suspected child neglect case. A 6-year-old boy was found wandering in a downtown parking ramp over 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 on Saturday, January 7, 2023. Officer 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 dispatched to the child’s home to speak to his mother, 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. When interviewed, the babysitter 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. 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,” Commander Kevin Warych, Green Bay Police Department.
If you have a non-verbal family member, contact the Green Bay Police Department’s non-emergency number at (920) 448-3200 and ask to speak with someone who can put that person in their 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.
Anyone with information related to this case is encouraged to call Green Bay Police at (920) 448-3200 and reference case #23-201040. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime stoppers at (920) 432-STOP (7867). You may also submit a tip online at www.432stop.com, or utilize the “P3 Tips” app for crime tips.
