Spotted wandering alone in Palm Springs, young boy reunited with family

December 18, 2021 Trevor Montgomery

PALM SPRINGS, Calif., — Reports of a small child seen wandering alone and crying near a busy Palm Springs intersection kicked off a frantic search for the toddler, who was eventually located safe and later returned to his family.

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City of Palm Springs police officers were alerted to the situation around 2:51 p.m. after receiving a 911 call from a passerby who reported seeing the toddler walking by himself near the intersection of N. Indian Canyon Drive and Racquet Club Road.

Although officers immediately began searching for the child, when their initial search failed to locate him, officials put out a social media request shortly before 4 p.m. asking area residents to be on the lookout for the toddler, who was initially reported to be approximately four years old and was seen wearing a green shirt and blue pants.

As word of the missing child spread, some concerned area residents took it upon themselves to begin aiding in the ongoing search, and around 30 minutes later officials updated that the child had been located.

Officials did not specify where the child was found but did report that the boy was found safe and unharmed.

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As their investigation was continuing, officers eventually identified and located the parents and the boy was later reunited with his family.

It was not immediately clear how the boy managed to end up wandering the streets by himself or if any charges against his family were being considered, and no further information has been released.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.